Through the looking glass
by Katsura369
Summary: Sakura's temper always had her on karma's bad side but the universe was just playing cruel by kicking her out of her world and into another with magical vessels with beings known as djinns inside of them; giant danger and treasure filled buildings called dungeons; powerful beings called magi and a perverted yet interesting boy named Sinbad.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone and welcome to the first chapter of my Naruto magi cross over. I had seen a few of these with Sakura in them and I thought I'd change things up a little. So therefore unlike the other two where Sakura ends up in the Magi world with the main focus being Aladdin; Alibaba and Morgiana I've decided to make a cross over that takes place during Sinbad's adventures. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Summary**

 **Sakura's temper always had her on karma's bad side but the universe was just playing cruel by kicking her out of her world and into another with magical vessels with beings known as djinns inside of them; giant danger and treasure filled buildings called dungeons; powerful beings called magi and a perverted yet interesting boy named Sinbad.**

* * *

"Another successful solo mission." Sakura said to herself proudly yet softly as she strolled through the forest near Konoha-the village hidden in the leaves. Her home; a place that bred ninja with extraordinary capabilities and she was one of them.

After nearly two years ago some traumatic events took place that left her heart shattered and because she was too weak at the time she was unable to stop it. That was in the past however, now at fourteen years of age Sakura lived everyday as she believed she should. She was no longer the same innocent, naive little girl but a strong; independent; beautiful women who was always looking for ways to improve herself and fuel her new appreciation for the world.

And it started with learning new things.

* * *

It was another peaceful day in Konoha and a certain pink haired kunoichi was making her way to her mentor's office. As she opened the door she rolled her eyes looking at the blonde women lying her head down on the desk covered with papers. The air also smelt of liquor slightly. The girl cringed as she stepped in.

"Lady Tsunade" she called

The hokage looked up from her pile of papers at the pinkette in front of her, rubbing her eyes she saw the girls features clearer. Soft porcelain skin, a petite figure with soft curves, shining emerald green eyes and short shoulder length pink hair, this was her pretty little apprentice Sakura Haruno who was giving her a rather disapproving look.

"Oh Sakura when did you arrive?" asked Tsunade

"Just a moment ago" she answered curtly crossing her arms over her chest

"Well um...why are you here again?"

"I just completed my mission and came to report in." Sakura said

Tsunade nodded drowsily "Oh; I see good job. Now then I need you to do something"

Sakura nearly dropped to the ground in disbelief at her teacher "Tsunade-sama I just returned from my solo mission can I not get a break?"

Tsunade shot up and started looking around her desk for something "Ah yes of course after you do this one little errand for me, I needed you to do a check up on the safety routes we have created in Hokage mountain. They were finished last week and I hadn't the time to check them myself-

'Meaning she's too lazy to do it' her inner added

'That's right' Sakura thought back

Tsunade handed Sakura a stack of papers "Those are the maps that have been made for the routes, I need you to make sure they are accurate"

"That will take me nearly all day" Sakura said more to herself than to Tsunade, now she understood why she didn't want to do it herself.

"Oh no it'll take no longer than an hour I'm sure. Well I'll leave it to you then"

"Yes ma'am" Sakura said with a soft sigh; sometimes she was too nice to her superiors; perhaps she should be a little more rebellious.

Then again she didn't want to end up flying through the ceiling.

* * *

It's been two years now since things have taken a turning point for the pink haired girls life. She was training under the leader of their village and was excelling if she say so herself. In those two years she had gotten stronger and in two years she had not seen her old teammates. Her childhood crush Sasuke Uchiha had left the village and her friend Naruto had left to undergo training by one of her teachers old teammates and that left Sakura alone in the village. She didn't even see her old sensei from her beginner ninja days.

Her heart still ached when she thought about them leaving but that motivated her to get stronger so that when she saw them again she wouldn't be a burden like before back in their genin years.

'Just you wait guys, I'll catch up soon' Sakura promised

"That's-the-last-one-Thank-God" huffed Sakura as she exited the last route that had completed inspection. It had taken her hours and her entire day but she had finally managed to finish the stupid task given to her.

"Stupid Tsunade" she hissed under her breath "Oh no Sakura it will only take no more than an hour year right my freaking ass"

Out of pure rage Sakura drew back her fist and punched the wall of the mountain causing a slight quake making Sakura stop and hiss under her breath.

'Curse me and my temper' she thought as she noticed the crack in the wall

"It's not that bad"

Suddenly the rocks started coming apart and Sakura stared there in shock and thinking how she was going to get out of this one.

'There's no way' she thought

As the dust cleared Sakura's eyes widened at what she saw. She could see a dark clearing that looked like a path way...only she was certain that there weren't more.

"What is this?" she asked herself as she stepped over the pile of rubble she had created and made her way into the dark path.

'I have a bad feeling about this' said her inner

'I'm sure' Sakura said back as she continued making her way through with caution, she wondered if it was something that her teacher knew about.

It didn't seem like anyone had ever been here before.

Finally Sakura's long walk came to an end as she entered a large room appearing to be a cave, there was a bright source of light around her. There were different coloured crystals all around her and in the centre of the room was...a mirror?

'Ok this is strange'

She walked towards it weary; there she saw her own reflection in the clear mirror. It was in such perfect shape it was hard to believe considering it must've been down here a very long time. There was gold around it with glittering roses.

"Beautiful" Sakura murmured in awe forgetting the situation for a moment

Her eyes seemed to become entranced, she reached out a delicate hand towards the mirror to touch her reflection. The moment her hand came into contact with the glass something magical happened.

Sakura's hand went straight through it and the mirror shone brightly snapping the girl out of her trance. She tried pulling her hand back but to no avail and soon the rest of her followed being drawn into the mirror like a magnet.

She yelled out as she was drawn into the mirror having little knowledge that as she entered the mirror began to crack slowly from the corner leading down wards until finally..

...

...

...

...

...

...

It shattered

* * *

Emerald eyes opened wide and gasped as she felt herself floating in a world of nothing. Below her was rays of light that were rotating one getting closer towards her and then she was engulfed in the flashing light causing her to cover her eyes before she felt herself being drawn in once more.

 _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

Sakura shot up with a gasp, she felt the sweat on her forehead as she recalled the voice she just hear but there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Where the heck?" she asked herself looking around frowning deeply

Looking down there was some kind of circle drawn at the bottom of her where she was currently lying.

'I need to find a way out of here' was all she thought as she stood up and began making her way down to the only path there was.

A brightly lit hallway she followed for several minutes with nothing of reporting but she was still being careful for she didn't know what awaited her and she was right to be.

Sakura entered a room at the end of the hall; it was badly lit with little crystals on the wall with small ponds and waterfalls. The sight was enchanting to say the least. There wasn't any sign of life though.

"Amazing" Sakura whispered

Moving away she started looking for a way out but there was none, she looked up to see if there was an opening up top but there wasn't. How was she supposed to get out of there now?

'No don't panic Sakura' she told herself 'Focus'

Taking a small breath Sakura started to analyse her surroundings more carefully but she still couldn't find one.

Then she heard it

A sweet melodic sound coming from somewhere within the room her eyes darted around to find the source but it was all over. She walked over to the large pond in the centre of the room, her eyes went blank as if she was being enchanted; she drew closer and closer towards the pond. The water began to bubble and small tentacle like things began to appear made of water. It reached out towards her wrapping around her form before plunging Sakura into the ice cold water.

Sakura's eyes returned to normal and flashed with panic as she choked on water. She tried fighting against the tentacles that were wrapped around her and dragging her deeper towards the endless bottom. Pumping chakra to her feet and arms she started flaying them around to created a whirl of water that destroyed the tentacles.

Finally free from them Sakura went to swim to the top

'Almost there' she thought but her eyes widened in shock when she saw that the top was no longer there and a hard rock surface covered it.

'Even if I broke through there's no way out of that room' Sakura thought drawing back and looking around as calmly as she could, then she spotted it. A dark tunnel it was the only way, better to die trying than not try at all.

She swam as quickly as she could through the dark cavern

A few minutes later managing to avoid any mishaps Sakura broke through the water and took a sweet breath. She coughed slightly as she swam to the edge and hoisted herself up.

Looking around it appeared as if she was still in a cave similar to the room before except there was actually what appeared to be a way out.

"I have no choice" she said as she ran through it but the moment her foot landed on the other end of that door it vanished without a trace.

'No turning back' she thought as she walked forward stepping

The room lights up around her in an eliminating magenta colour, she looked around for any threats or dangers as she continued to make her way through the mysterious place. She noticed that the room in front of her had square shaped floors with strange symbols on them.

'This doesn't look right' she thought narrowing her eyes she stepped on one causing it to glow a blue colour "What's this?"

Then another square glowed blue, she stepped on it and when she did the other one vanished into nothing.

'I'd better hurry' Sakura thought 'I don't even want to know what will happen if I step on the wrong one'

The next square changed and she stepped on it, this was leading her down the hall way and at the end she could see yet another door.

'What is up with this place?' she wondered as she continued stepping on the squares which was continuously leading her down the hall way

"I'm going to make it" she said smiling as she jumped towards the next square however she accidently touched the back of the other with the half of her foot and it turned red.

'That' can't be good' she thought suddenly she felt shaking and the hall way began to close in.

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked ahead where the door was, it wasn't too far from her sights.

'I can' make it if I run' she thought pumping chakra to her feet then dashing forward as quickly as she could. The walls just seemed to close in on her faster with every step on the stones she took. She knew that it was because she wasn't stepping on the blue ones.

There was barely any elbow room as she reached the door and flew through it as quickly as she could just as the walls closed in completely.

Sakura panted in relief when she realised she was safe.

"I-don't-like-this-place" she said to herself

As she lied back, this room seemed safe but you could never be too careful however she needed a break. She's been running in this place for hours now without finding a way out.

 _Find the ones who hold the pieces that were shattered and return to the world you once knew stronger than you've been seen before you entered._

 _Leave with more than you came and gain the power worthy of a king_

 _Learn to hone the power of all and stand for nothing more_

 _Only with this power and those you encounter_

 _Shall you be able to gather the fragments of your world and return once more._

Sakura's eyes opened wide as she gasped for air "What was that just now?" she wondered

"A dream?" she said to herself before placing a hand over her mouth "It felt so real. That voice"

She shook her head and started walking towards the next door wondering what was in store for her this time. As she entered she was met with...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

A wall

Sakura felt a vein on her forehead throb as she stared up at the large wall. She was expected to climb this; it was blankly obvious as there were square shaped stones sticking out. Sakura started focusing chakra to her feet.

"Luckily for me as a ninja" she said before smirking "I DON'T NEED TO START AT THE BOTTOM"

With that said she pushed up in a huge jump that took her straight into the air. She managed to grab a hold of the rocks and then pushed herself further up.

She continued this for a while for nearly fifteen minutes until she finally reached the top. She almost slipped but pushed herself up one more time before falling on the ground.

"That-was-too close" she gasped starring up at the sky

'HOLY FUCK THE SKY?'

Yep she was sure she wasn't hallucinating she was staring up at the sky when she looked again she realised that the scenery around her had changed. Completely

There was a magnificent forest around her, not like a usual forest that you saw every day. Some how the grass seemed greener...literally, the trees were taller beyond words. The water seemed clearer and the mountains bigger and wider.

"Wow" she gasped "Pretty"

She was so enchanted she failed to noticed something heading straight towards her until the 'sun' was blocked and she turned around

"What is that?" she screamed taking a step back as giant talons reached out to pluck her from the ground but she managed to avoid them barely.

It was a red falcon and she meant giant; Sakura felt her chakra running on really low at this point and made a run for the forest with little chakra and no weapons at all she didn't exactly have the tools to fight against something like this.

'Damn' she cursed as she ran through the forest

"I just need to find the next gate" she said hoping that there would be another one and that she would be able to find it soon.

She ducked into half a stump of a tree and watched as the falcon seemed to circle around. Looking at it, it was a very beautiful creature. Its wings were as bright as the flames of fire yet it was so dangerous.

"Beautiful and deadly" Sakura murmured under her breath as she watched it fly from sight, sighing in relief she crawled out of the tree stump.

'Now to keep moving'

Sakura sighed in relief as finished drinking some of the water of the lake, she glanced down at her reflection and winced. She was a mess. Her usual red dress with her symbol on it was torn in various places and she had a couple of cuts on her that she didn't want to waste her chakra healing which was a good thing because she was nearly out.

"I better get out of here soon but...I wonder if that voice-

Sakura was cut off from her own thoughts when she heard growling behind her, looking back towards the forest she saw it, glowing yellow eyes staring right at her.

"Crap" Sakura said taking a cautious step back before the beasts lunged at her, Sakura quickly darted to her left and started running for her life.

'I can't fight like this' she thought 'Damn why did I use so much chakra?'

She continued running from the creatures, she couldn't even identify what they were literally looking like nothing more than black beasts with shiny white fangs and claws that could rip her to shreds with ease.

'Must run faster' she thought as she continued to press on and then making a sharp turn back into the forest followed by the creatures of course.

She jumped into the air and started moving through the trees as quickly as she possibly could but those things didn't stop chasing after her.

She stopped jumping as she came to her last tree before she would be out in the open again, she looked down at the creatures...still after her. If she went out into that long sunflower field she may be able to lose them.

'I need a weapon or something' Sakura thought frustrated

"Ouch" she hissed when she felt a prick on her finger, looking down she saw it was a bee of some sort only it was black. She looked at the branch and realised there was a hive.

"Bingo" she said side stepping and holding onto a branch on top of her as she lifted up her leg and brought it down hard on the branch holding the hive. She watched as it crashed to the ground unleashing all of its angry bee's and started attacking anything near it. Sakura watched as the beasts fled into the forest.

"Now that's thinking" she said as she landed on the ground safely and started running towards the sunflower field.

"Finally" she said with a smile "Something that won't kill me"

She ran through it for nearly over two hours and for a moment thought she wouldn't find an end to it but then as she continued making her way further and further into the field she stopped.

"ARE YOU KIDDING?" Sakura yelled out in frustration as she stared at the huge barite patch in front of her. The field of thorns simply stared at her, she felt like she was being mocked.

"CURSE WHOEVER CREATED THIS PLACE" Sakura shouted feeling her anger build she used what chakra she had to leap into the air and filled her fist with chakra before coming down straight into the field of thorns breaking through it and then hitting solid ground creating a giant crater that cleared away the field.

Sakura panted heavily as she admired her hand work  
"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT" she said as she climbed out

Sakura looked over at the remains of the thorn field and noticed something odd about them. They were unravelled like a ball of yawn. Sakura reached up for one of the long thorn bushes and untangled it. She took it from the room which wasn't covered in thorns. Raising her hand she brought it down quickly and heard a cracking sound. She looked at the makeshift whip. Not something she usually worked with but it was doable especially when you can't be a chooser in a life or death situation which this one clearly was.

Sakura continued on her way, now she was currently passing a mine field of some sorts that was blowing out hot steam from the cracks in the dry ground but she couldn't care less at this point. She continued to push on as she saw in the distance the next door and hopefully her way out at last.

"It's here" Sakura gasped as she stared at the giant door in front of her; it was brimmed with gold at the end and there was a hexagon shape in the middle of it; not like the others, this had to be the way out. She was sure of it. Sakura came forward to push it open, finally ready for the nightmare to hopefully be over but...to no avail.

"No" Sakura cried out in frustration as she banged on the doors "No; No; No"

Taking a breath she screamed out but then she heard the noise and turned around and saw that the over sized chicken was back.

"Shit" Sakura muttered removing the whip from over her shoulder not that she thought she could do much with that when that thing looked like...that.

It flew towards her opening its beak and what came out of it had Sakura running for her life once more. Flames of darkness came out. Sakura narrowed her eyes as she moved out of the way of it and then rolled over to avoid the gaizer.

"This is seriously starting to piss me off" Sakura said, her eyes not clouded by fear but by anger "There is no way I'm going to die here after all I've been through" she hissed angrily

Sakura moved and moved away once more as the falcon swooped down towards her and tried to snatch her up but she avoided it. Sakura raised her arm into the air readily with the whip in hand as she waited for the falcon to come towards her which it did with that she jumped into the air forcing more chakra to her feet and then struck it. As she was in the air above it Sakura saw it.

A gem of some kind resting on the falcon's crown of it's head.

"That's it" she said taking a glance at the door and noticing the slot

"It's the key"

Sakura raised her hand again and came back for another strike aiming for the gem but the falcon avoided her and instead she hit its neck. Drawing back she was about to hit it again when the falcon stared right at her with its fiery yellow eyes. Sakura quickly tried using her whip but what happed instead was the falcon grabbed a hold of it with its beak and took to the skies higher with the whip in its beak and Sakura attached to the end.

"FUCK"

 **SNAP**

The wood of the whip broke leaving Sakura wide eyed as the only part of her weapon left was the long room which didn't bed.

"NO" she cried out in frustration as she began falling; she didn't have any more chakra to make a safe landing from this height.

'No' she thought tears brimming her eyes as she started to cry still clutching the end of the whip; she couldn't die in a place like this. Where no one would be able to find her...she thought of her friends, her teachers.

'Sasuke; Naruto...NO"

Sakura's eyes opened with a new determination in them 'I promised to get stronger and here's my chance. I know it. I CAN FEEL IT'

Sakura twisted her body so that it moved further and then faced down so she would land head fist. She raised her fist. Drawing in everything she could with this single punch.

"NOW" she shouted as she made the ground crack under her knuckles and then a large amount of hot steam came that sent her flying back into the air. Sakura leapt into the air taking the end of the wood in her hand. The pointed end facing up as the falcon soared towards her.

"DIE"

Sakura felt entire end of the stick go through something soft and then the warm feeling of a thick liquid could be felt. Sakura smirked

"I win" she said staring the creature right in the eye as it started to fall down with her and landed with a huge thud creating a crater. Sakura got off of it and stared at the dead monster. To think that all it took was a piece of wood.

"A good ninja makes use of their surroundings" Sakura said to herself as she took the gem from its head and then it started to vanish. Sakura stared at it with a blank face as she went towards the door and placed it in the slot.

The door then opened and Sakura had a new look of determination on her face as she walked forward.

The room was lit brightly by torches and was littered with objects that all appeared to be made of wood. There were ornaments of some sorts and giant piles of wood stocked one after the other but in the middle of the room with a light shining on it was a simple block of wood neatly cut.

'Nothings as it seems here' Sakura thought as she touched it there was a bright light that shone and then soon after everything around her changed.

The rooms coloured and then after...the wood all turned to gold.

"Amazing" Sakura gasped looking around in shock

A bright light started to shine in the centre of the room and a giant blue being appeared; she could tell from its features that it was male. He had short greyish reddish hair; sharp silver type armour decorated his shoulders and he had huge dark and purple bat type wings on his back and three red horns on his head and had red eyes.

"I am Beleth the djinn of strength and discord. Who is it that will become king?" he asked looking down at her

"Ah only one, so it's you" he said

Sakura was gaping at the sight before snapping out of her awe struck state

"I-I just want to go home" Sakura said fiercely "I want to get back home"

Soon after she said that something started to glow in the centre of Sakura's chest and she felt something. Pulling it out Sakura saw a golden frame of some sorts

Beleth looked at it and his eyes went wide "Oh my, you're one of those"

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion staring up at the blue giant

"Oh dear my king" Beleth said "Of all the people in the world it had to be one from another"

Sakura flayed her hands around wildly "Hello what are you talking about over here?"

He pointed to the frame around her neck "That my dear master is the frame of the looking glass which is how you came here in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Sakura demanded stomping her feet on the ground

"It's a powerful creation meant to take you from one world to another which is what it's done however once you enter a world the only way to return is to find the pieces of it"

Sakura let the information sink into her mind "WHAT?"

The djinn pointed down at Sakura and then the frame started to glow before Sakura looked at it and noticed something shining in the corner of it that wasn't there before.

"That's the first piece master, I'm afraid that you will have to find other djins to gather the rest" Beleth told her "Until then you are to remain in this world"

"You mean I'm stuck running for my life in this crazy place?" demanded Sakura

Beleth shook his head "No of course not master, you are only in my domain right now, there is a world outside of this right now you are in a place known as a dungeon. It seems that the magi who placed the mirror there in the first place to travel must've made it so that whoever steps in will end up here"

"Magi? What the heck?" Sakura asked sitting down as she tried to wrap her head around the situation

So far all she could understand was that she was in another world that she stepped into when she touched the mirror but the rest was a miss.

Sensing that Sakura was about to start asking more questions the djinn raised a hand and poured a light of magic over the girl.

"This should explain it"

Sakura's vision started to flood, she was in another world where dungeons would appear and each one held riches beyond your wildest dreams but many dangers if one should conquer one then they will become a kings candidate for a magi which were beings that summoned dungeons and the one that summoned this dungeon was the owner of the mirror as well. If she wanted to return home she had to collect all of the pieces of the mirror of the djinn that THAT Magi had summoned with the dungeons.

There was more

The knowledge of the power that she would hold if she accepted to become a kings candidate and conquer this dungeon. She would hold a djinn...a powerful being that would grant her power using her magoi...an energy that was held inside everyone.

'I understand' Sakura thought as she opened her eyes again looking up a the djinn

"That's what the voice was telling me" she said

Sakura looked up at Beleth

"Alright then...I accept" Sakura stated

She was engulfed once more by a bright light but she didn't care for she was no longer afraid and was ready for what this world had to throw at her

Or so she thought

 **Well thus I mark the end of the first chapter; I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Don't forget to review**


	2. Chapter 2:Looking closer

**Exams are over and I am finally able to update this story; I hope everyone enjoys reading this.**

 **please remember that this story is based on The Adventures of Sinbad**

 **I DO NOT OWN MAGI OR NARUTO**

* * *

"Here I take it this is enough?"

"Oh yes more than enough miss" said the excited merchant as he weighed the gold coins in his hand in excitement as the pinkette took the pile of clothing.

"Is there anywhere I can change?"

The merchant pointed to the back of his store hidden by a curtain. The pinkette walked towards it and changed.

'Not bad' Sakura thought starring at herself in the mirror; she was wearing her usual thigh length tights but had changed her top for a short tunic that cut into a deep v showing off her fishnet shirt and black sports bra. She remained in her open toe boots and of course her ninja headband sat proudly at the top of her head of course it now held an eight pointed star.

The weather in this world was honestly too hot for her liking most of the time. She also bought a black cloak on colder nights.

It had been exactly a month since Sakura had arrived in this world and a month since she had captured a dungeon. Now she was in search of more not for the djinns power or the treasure the tower held; it was all for the sake of returning home. To her friends and family once more; that was all she cared about.

The new world was a harsh one that was certain; she had found herself in the middle of nowhere when she awakened from the dungeon; a desert with nothing for miles besides dunes. She had managed to get out easily enough having made plenty of trips through the desert back in her world in order to reach the village hidden in the sand.

That however wasn't the only factor in this world that made it less appealing to a stranger like her; while on the road she had come across bandits several times but she was able to subdue them easily enough-the three giant sacks of gold she lugged with her proved to draw a lot of unwanted attention. She had then ended up in a forest until finally she discovered a small town which was where she was currently at now getting supplies not only would she be able to better equip herself for her journey but she would be able to unload the treasure. Yes she obviously believed that she would need money but she did not think it was very smart to carry several sacks of gold around.

'I mean it's like begging to be mugged' she thought

Even with buying all of these supplies she still would not be able to relieve herself of a lot of it. She still had full intention of lessening it-she just wanted to find a productive way to do it. Looking around the town she viewed the cobble stone floors and odd shaped buildings. There was a sense of such unfamiliarity and it was often something she enjoyed but not at this time. Not when it stood in the way of her reaching home and seeing the people she cared about so dearly again.

"My; that..." the merchant trailed starring at the bags Sakura had behind her "That is quite a large amount of treasure. You'll draw a lot of attention to yourself. The road following out of this town is famous for holding bandits."

"And to this town." Added Sakura with little regard "That is something I am concerned about; this town it seems a bit run down doesn't it?"

"Yes; that's because of the recent rise in attacks on caravans and such."

Understanding what was meant in that short sentence Sakura didn't press the matter any further. She would stay a night to make sure she had taken all of the essentials and then be on the road once again.

Sakura smiled; this merchant was kind even while mentioning her treasure he did not look upon it with greedy eyes nor did he attempt to pry into her business and ask how she had acquired that treasure. Sakura pulled out a smaller sack from the larger one and held it out to the merchant who seemed completely shocked.

"Consider this my thanks to you for informing me." Sakura said holding out the bag as though it weighed nothing which to her it did.

The merchant raised his hands up "But this is-

"Please take it; it would honestly lighten my load and I would really appreciate it." she told him; nothing but honesty laced within her voice.

The merchant's wife seemed to be struck speechless but her eyes filled with tears of happiness as the merchant took the bag grateful. After receiving many thanks the pinkette decided to move on but then she recalled one last thing.

"Oh yes; do you know where I can find an inn and where I could find caravans leaving tomorrow?"

* * *

After receiving the information and gathering up the last of her supplies Sakura set off towards the caravans as directed; she was going to ask around to see who would be leaving tomorrow and then get some rest-of course if it was that she could only leave today so be it but she was hoping to find a way to move this treasure along.

She felt a light flutter within her and gently touched the headband on her "It's not that I don't appreciate it; believe me but I cannot allow myself to carry such a haul throughout my travels it'll slow me down and attract attention."

She made it to a location that was bordered slightly on the outskirts of the tiny town where there were five caravans placed.

"Better start asking." Sakura said

Though on her way she made another discover about this world that had her wrenching.

"OI, MOVE IT YOU WORTHLESS PIECES OF GARBAGE"

Sakura heard the distinct clanks of chains moving closer and closer towards her; turning her head she saw several men moving across the road but that wasn't what had gotten her attention; it was all of the people dressed in dirty rags who appeared completely worn that captured her interest and grief. There were about a hundred or so in all and they varied in age and gender. It was a sight that made the pinkettes blood boil to such a degree she was trembling. Heavy chains decorated each person's wrists; ankles and neck as they were dragged along.

'What kind of sick-

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence for there wasn't time.

"Hey!" Sakura called stopping the five men that were leading the people. "What do you think you're doing?"

One of them turned to her with a disgruntled face obviously from being called. "Huh you talking to us girl?"

The pinkette did not waver "Yeah; what the hell are you doing with all these people? Let them go!"

The five men glanced amongst themselves before they burst into fits of laughter.

"Is she serious?"

"Let them go!" another mocked in a girlish voice which only succeeded in pissing Sakura off even more.

Then the largest man of them all and obviously the leader stalked over to Sakura "Listen here; if you don't want to get hurt I suggest you keep your trap shut girl. Don't you know slaves when you see em?"

Sakura's eyes widened at the word "Slave?"

"Yeah; these people are slaves. They're going to be sold at an auction in the next town."

Slavery

Such a think actually existed in this world?

'How vulgar' she thought in disgust; honestly the more time Sakura spent in this world the more she seemed to discover something to hate about it.

"They're our property."

"And there's nothing you can do about it."

Pure furry erupted within her as the ground beneath her feet cracked; the men stepped back in shock with fear struck eyes.  
"What has she-

"You want to fight?"

Sakura no longer had any intention of holding back however something stopped her from going into a rage like she desired.

"This is the world's system sweetie; ain't anyone going to demolish it."

This was the worlds system?

This world wasn't hers; she had no attachment to it; nothing to bind her; she had no reason to hold anything back. She realised that not too long ago; she could do whatever she pleased and beating the crap out of these men wouldn't change a thing for her or affect her in any way but...

Looking at the many men and women and children chained up; she couldn't do it.

"How much?" Sakura asked

"Huh?"

"How much for all of them?"

"You want to buy all of them?"

Nodding her head; she threw one of the giant bags of gold at the man "That should do right?"

The men eyed the money with greedy eyes; the pinkette almost pulled her face when she saw drool coming down one of their chins.

"This is way more than we would've made selling them at the auction."

"You've got yourself some slaves little lady."

Sakura stepped forward "Good now the condition is that you leave right now."

After the slave dealers left Sakura alone with many of the chained slaves; she wasted no time in quickly unchaining all of them. Everyone looked at her with curious and grateful eyes.

"You all won't have to worry anymore; you're free." Sakura told them

One of the women looked at her "Bless you child."

Sakura smiled at her.

"But why would you do this for us?" one of the men asked

The pinkette shrugged "I'm simply finding myself a hobby I suppose; now everyone please line up"

No one denied their saviour and did as she told them; Sakura started handing out sacs of gold to all of them telling them that they would be able to use it to get them to where they needed to be. Freedom may cost but some help never hurt anyone. That's what she told them anyway. By the end of the day Sakura had managed to unload quite a bit of her treasure.

'And only stopping in one town'

"That was awfully kind of you." a voice-one that Sakura was not familiar with said.

Spinning around she saw a young man with long blonde hair the length of his body in a braid and shimmering blue eyes; he also wore a strange green outfit. Sakura also couldn't help but note that he had rather delicate features for a male. He also carried a stick with him and had a large hat on top of his head.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked

"I'm a traveller; my name's Yunan."

* * *

"Thanks for the food." Yunan said before digging into the meal that the pinkette had been kind enough to provide. Of course she was able to tell he was starving from the loud rumbling of his stomach. They were currently seated in an inn.

"Well..." Sakura trailed as she watched him finish his second plate of food; for a man with a twig like figure he sure ate a lot. "You're welcome I guess."

Yunan chuckled as he stopped eating "I'm sorry; anyway I see you're a traveller as well."

Sakura smiled; for some reason she was getting an odd sensation from this person. One she wasn't able to place just yet but looking closely at him she swore the air around him was different. When she squinted from time to time she swore she could see something fluttering around him in a gentle hum but then it was disappear.

"That's right" Sakura replied

"That was a very kind thing to do; freeing all those people."

Sakura noted that he didn't use the word slaves; which was good; it meant that he didn't ever think of them as such.

"Well; I didn't really have anything better to do with it. I can't believe that a system like slavery exists in this world though."

Yunan made a noise of agreement "Well; this side of the great divide is harsh and there are many forces moving but there are still some wonderful things in the world."

The pinkette sighed before taking a sip of her drink she stared at her reflection in the cup; she was reminded that once again this world was not the one she belonged to as she didn't fully understand what the man was talking about. That struck a sense of longing within her. The worst part was it hasn't even been that long. She felt dread at the thought of never being able to return back to her world. She had left too many things unfinished and too many promises that were yet to be fulfilled.

"You think? Well I have yet to see them." the pinkette slumped in her seat before resting her chin on her hand and looking to the side.

The sun had started to set; it wouldn't be but a few short hours that tomorrow would arrive and she would begin a journey with a goal that required her to collect all the pieces of the looking glass and to do that she would have to find the djinn of the magi that the mirror belonged to.

There was one problematic factor however and that was she had no idea where to start searching. She knew the path she needed to take but she just couldn't find it.

'Not thinking things through...only Naruto can do something like that and come out unscathed.'

"That's an unusual piece of jewellery" observed Yunan as Sakura began to unconsciously play with the item around her neck; her fingers lightly skimming over the frame; it really did look like a shattered mirror with only one shard placed in it.

"Oh...yes it is." Sakura said looking down at it "Though it's probably going to cause me a lot of trouble."

"Mm?"

"Nothing" Sakura snapped quickly closing her eyes as she wondered into thought. Right in front of a stranger she had only met a few minutes ago. The odd thing about strangers that Sakura discovered was that you feel secure enough to confide in them without the fear of being judged.

"Sakura if I may for a traveller you seem very...lost."

The pinkette looked up at Yunan in surprise; her full attention now directed at him; she gave a wry smile "A mind-reader are you?"

"I don't mean to offend you but-

A giggle erupted from Sakura as she looked up at Yunan "Not at all; you are right I am lost."

There was an abrupt silence between them for a few short moments as Sakura and Yunan contemplated on what to say next.

"I'm lost" Sakura said "I want to go home but I can't not until-

"Not until you complete it." Yunan finished for her; this caused Sakura to gasp in shock. "Not until you complete the looking glass."

"How did you-

Yunan smiled "There are a lot of things wrong in the world Sakura; you've come at a time where a lot of things are changing. For better or worse and you will not be able to avoid getting caught up in its calamities not as long as you continue your quest."

"What are you saying?" Sakura asked suspicious; narrowing her eyes at the young man she wondered who exactly he was to be able to tell her things like this.

Yunan gave her a small grin before he stood up and began to walk out of the inn; Sakura of course followed after him. Too many questions still to be asked and answered. The pinkette was not one known for having the best patience she was just very good at hiding it.

"Wait; tell me what exactly do you mean by that?" Sakura called rushing after him.

Yunan continued to walk out along the empty road "Don't worry everything will be fine. You just have to listen and look carefully. After all those who are not attached to this world will be able to see things much more clearly and perhaps see what can't be seen."

There was the fluttering again and for the first time Sakura caught sight of what appeared to be golden birds flying around Yunan; she didn't know what they were or how she knew this but they seemed happy?

"Trust yourself and the answers you're seeking will come to you."

"Wai-

And just like that the mysterious traveller known as Yunan vanished into thin air before the pinkettes eyes leaving her both awe struck and confused.

* * *

"Look and listen; what the heck does that even mean?" Sakura said to herself as she stared at the broken mirror once again. She narrowed her eyes; it had been hours now since she had run into the strange traveller and she was yet to figure out the meaning behind his words. It was as if she was trying to solve a riddle. She didn't have time for things like this though what she needed was to figure out where to go next.

She took off her headband starring up at the star that had been placed on it. "You wouldn't happen to know anything do you?"

The headband glowed and Sakura sighed "Didn't think so..."

It wouldn't be the first time she had been in a difficult situation before but this was unlike anything she has ever had to experience. Placing her headband back on she rolled on her side closing her eyes; allowing herself to slip into an uncomfortable light sleep.

 _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

 _Find those who have been scattered_

 _To retrieve that which has been shattered_

 _Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon_

 _Will help you mend what has been broken._

 _Permission from a king is required_

 _To achieve what is desired_

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece_

Sakura's eyes snapped opened; her chest heaving up and down as thoughts filled her mind of what it was she had just dreamed. The words were still lingering; with her memory she was able to recall it all from the beginning to the very last word.

"What was that?" she asked herself; sitting up from her bed she clutched her head in frustration.

Everything that had happened flashed through her mind in an instant; from returning home to finding the mirror to capturing a dungeon to the mysterious stranger who told her to open her eyes and ears to the truth and without much realisation or consideration of consequence she began to mutter the verses that had entered her mind.

"Fix that which has been broken; mend that which has been destroyed. And return to where you belong." She uttered unaware of the fluttering around her as she continued "Find those who have been scattered to retrieve that which has been shattered. Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon. Will help you mend what has been broken. Permission for a king is required to achieve that which is desired."

She was able to hear the fluttering getting louder now; it was as if she was surrounded by some kind of swarm she could now hear but still she did not open her eyes. It gave her a sense of warmth; curiosity and caution.

She couldn't have known what was to come after she recited the final verse

"And with each piece that you have mended. A new window shall be descended. A gift for you deeds; a wish for you needs..."

The fluttering sounded more frantic now than ever but she ignored it.

"WILL LEAD YOU CLOSER TO THE NEXT PIECE."

And just like that the fluttering stopped.

The small yet cosy little inn room was stilled in silence; a large sac still stood in the corner of the room reminding that someone resided in there. Yet the unmade bed lied empty.

Just like the sun that vanishes when night arrives; did Sakura vanish from plain sight.

* * *

Numbness and irritation consumed her; eyes fluttered open gently as Sakura attempted to move her suddenly stiff body. Her lips parted as she let out a strangled noise. She felt she was lying on something soft yet extremely cold and was loose as it moved beneath her twitching fingers and she could smell the distinct salty fragrance of the sea. As her blurred vision began to return to normal she mostly saw white.

Snow covered the land for miles; mountains stood in the distance.

"Where am I?" Sakura wondered looking around before her thoughts landed on the weather; the snow that touched her bare skin caused her to start shivering. Her attire no longer suited the climate conditions. Then again it wasn't as if she was planning to suddenly wake up in a land of ice and snow.

"How did I get here?"

She began to search for the answer in the confines of her mind; with her analytical abilities sharp as ever it wasn't hard for her to come up with a theory. She looked at the mirror-the looking glass with sceptical eyes.

"Did this send me here?" she wondered.

The top of her headband glowed brightly _"It would appear so my king."_

She then realised that she did not have any of her supplies she had just bought and the treasure wasn't there as well. It seemed that all she had was the clothes on her back and thankfully her headband.

Sakura sighed before sneezing; her teeth chattered together no wonder she was so stiff.

So here she was in the middle of a frozen wasteland with absolutely no idea of how to return to where she was with no supplies or money.

"Well it can't get any worse."

Or so she thought

"You there; who are you?"

Sakura groaned and looked up "Does this universe have something against me?"

Turning around Sakura saw that she had been surrounded by several men with huge red spears like objects pointed right at her. The men were huge and she meant HUGE. Far from any normal human being; they exceeded the height of any man she has ever met; they wore pieces of cloth wrapped around their broad shoulders but other than that their chests were completely bare which made Sakura wonder how it was they weren't freezing; they appeared completely natural within the snow. Their hair was a deep yet light blue. However Sakura was still getting over their size.

Their eyes looked at the small girl with hostility.

"Who are you?"

Sakura stared at them passively "A traveller."

"How did you get so deep into Imuchakk?"

"Imuchakk?" Sakura asked "Is that this places name? Perhaps you could help me"

The pinkette was only met with silence as the men scrutinised her with cautious eyes; as if they had never met someone like her before.

"I asked how did you get so deep into our land?"

Now this was problematic; she couldn't tell them that she was a ninja from another dimension that was sucked into this world by a magic mirror which was probably what brought her here in the first place.

'Why not just ask them to arrest me right here?' Sakura thought frowning.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you." Sakura replied simply placing her hands on her hips "I mean you no harm I'm simply searching for a way to get back."

"Do not lie!" one of them shouted "You're a suspicious person; if you do not answer our questions we will have to take you to our leader by force."

Sakura narrowed her eyes "I already told you I don't mean you any harm."

They refused to heed her words as one walked over to her; reaching out towards Sakura pointing his spear at her.

"Do not try any-

Sakura; losing all patience with this world in an instant grasped the spear with one hand and in and snapped it; the weapon made a sickly cracking as it dropped into the snow.

"I refuse to be treated like some low life criminal when I haven't done anything but appear." Sakura stated glaring up at the man.

"G-GET HER."

Sakura let out a small sigh "Here we go."

 **Hope you enjoyed that everyone; now the story will really be kicking off and it'll be fun too.**

 **Don't forget to review.**


	3. The two dungeon conquerors

**Here's a present for my lovely readers!**

* * *

Sakura looked around to assess how many opponents she had and counted twelve; even so she didn't waver. It was unbecoming for a ninja to give way during battle and no matter which land she may reside she would not allow herself to deter and submit to her opponents.

"Well" she said "What are you waiting for?"

The first strike came swiftly as another spear was swung at her and with an agile arch of her back she watched as it swung above her. The pinkette pumped chakra to her feet in order to say above the redefined water known as snow keeping her steady and firm. She delivered a swift kick to her attacker sending him flying into one of his comrades; she watched as they rolled and crashed into a pile of snow.

The men seemed surprised at her strength but at the same time they did not cease their attacks. They came at her at once in hopes to overpower the girl. Jumping into the air she spun around and kicked back half of them while the remaining resumed to attack.

They began to throw and jab their spears at her but they were unable to land a single hit; her speed was too great for them. She continued to jump around trying to tire them out so that she would be able to try again and get them to listen to her.

Several minute shad gone by but while she saw them all reaching exhaustion they were persistent.

"ARE ALL MEN THIS THICK HEADED?" Sakura shouted as she grabbed another spear and snapped it in half.

"You're going to pay for that wench"

Sakura felt a vein on her forehead throb in irritation. Didn't these people see that they wouldn't be able to defeat her?

'Men and their stubbornness' she thought as she cast aside the broken weapon

"DO IT NOW"

One of the men had come behind Sakura and moved a bit of a distance; he drew back his arm before throwing the spear at Sakura. It came at a speed that was different from the other attacks. This one was powerful and Sakura was able to see that when she turned and saw it coming right at her.

Sakura drew back her fists before leaping forward and brining it forward with a mighty scream as it made contact with the weapon effectively destroying it and stopping it.

"W-WHAT?"

"I-IMPOSSIBLE"

"SUCH A CHILD"

"WAS ABLE TO STOP THAT?"

Sakura panted; as she pulled back and turned around "WHOS NEXT?"

Then she heard more voices.

"What's going on down there?"

Another spear was thrown at her from above aimed directly for her head.

Sakura turned around and spoke.

"Oh mightt djinn of strength and discord use my magoi and obey my will...BELETH"

Sakura's right hand transformed; her fingers became talons as silver armour covered her arm until her elbow. She held up her hand and a beam of black flames shot through it stopping the spear. Sakura peered on the hill at her new attackers; there were more people standing above look at her.

Sakura raised her hand and fired again but as she did she heard someone shouting.

"BAAL"

The crackling sound of lightning-a sound she knew well from her world. Her flames were met with the strike of lightning coming directly at her. They two attacks seemed to cancel each other out and there was an explosion creating a large amount of vapour in the air.

'Where did that come from?' she wondered trying to see through the steam.

Then something emerged from the mist; Sakura unsuspecting was pushed into the cold snow; the heat created from battle started to wear off. Sakura groaned; her teeth started to chatter from the cold as she was held down.

"Why are you-huh a girl?"

Opening her eyes emerald clashed with gold and Sakura gasped as she came face to face with a young boy; he couldn't be older than fourteen or fifteen. He had long purple hair; she could see his pony tail hanging over his shoulder and lightly ticking her face-had she been two years younger she would've been jealous as she always wanted to have super long hair in order to impress the boy she admired. He was starring down at her with curious eyes.

The pinkette heard the fluttering again; softly she tried to focus her eyes to try and see again.

Those strange birds of gold.

" _Those are rukh my king"_

" _You'll have to explain later."_

Sakura continued to stare at the boy who did the same in turn before he grinned down at her.

"You know you're really cute!"

That snapped Sakura out of her trance as she narrowed her eyes; she raised her leg and then jerked her hips to the side effectively throwing the boy off balance and getting him off of her.

Sakura stood up to look down at the boy; her eyes widened when she saw his hand; he was holding a sword but what she noted was the eight pointed star on the sword and the way it was reacting to her headband.

Sakura spoke "Are you-

"SINBAD" a male voice called

Sakura turned and saw two more men with blue hair appear; one was rather elderly; he had a goatee and scars marring his face giving him a dangerous appearance. The second was clearly a younger man but just like the rest of these men he was extremely large.

"Are you their leader?" Sakura asked the older man

"I am child. Who are you?"

"My name is Sakura Haruno; I'm a traveller." She answered

"Why did you attack my men?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes "They were the ones who started; I was simply defending myself."

Half truth but still with some truth nonetheless.

Observing the end results of battle; the chief saw all his men lying in the snow; alive but a bit bruised.

"You haven't killed any of them so I'll allow you to live."

Sakura placed hand on her hip "How kind of you. I was only seeking aid; I didn't mean to start a battle."

"Then let us return to the village where we can discuss." said the chief "All of you men up on your feet."

The men groaned in the snow as they forced themselves to stand making Sakura feel both a pinch of guilt and pride.

'Still got it'

The purple haired boy stood up as well and shook off the snow; he then looked at Sakura with a grin that had her narrowing her eyes at him.

* * *

Sakura was lead to a village; the outskirts were decorated with horns of some large creature completely surrounding the village; there were many homes all made of wood; the entire land was covered with snow and not a single plant in sight. It made Sakura wonder how anyone could survive in such harsh conditions. The people didn't seem to be bothered by it though; their clothing was far from suited to the weather but it seemed that their bodies were adapted well to the environment.

She was now seated in a large wooden house where the chief resided; animal skins covered the floor and pillows which they were now seated on. The chief was at the front while Sakura sat on the side with the young man that was with him she discovered was his son; he said his name was Hina; then there was another girl among them with the same blue hair that the large men had, she was also incredible tall she told Sakura that her name was Pipirika-the daughter of the chief and there was also the boy known as Sinbad.

"What brings you to Imuchakk?" Sinbad asked grinning slightly at her

"I'm...looking for something." Sakura answered hesitantly

"What is that?" asked the chief this time

Sakura took a breath and removed her head band; showing them the star on it; the band started to emit a bright light "I'm searching for dungeons."

"Dungeons?" Sinbad gasped

Sakura nodded before placing the headband back on tightly "You're a conqueror too aren't you? When you attacked earlier your sword was glowing."

Sinbad nodded; a serious expression placed on his face "Yes but why would a girl like you be looking for dungeons."

"I have my reasons." Sakura snapped

The chief spoke "Well there is one here; a strange building that appeared not long ago before you arrived."

Sakura held her chin in thought; after she had said that chant she ended up here.

'Is it possible that I was brought here because of a dungeon?'

Then there was something else to consider...Sakura looked over at Sinbad who was staring back at her. Her eyes then landed on his sword .

"Could you show me your djinn mark?" Sakura asked gesturing to his sword

While confused Sinbad drew out his sword; Sakura removed her necklace and placed the frame over the mark. Just then it started to react-both items. Sakura watched as a second shard began to materialise within the frame. Sakura could see the small crack that separated the two shards but it remained in place.

Sakura smiled; she was yet another step closer.

"What did you do?" Sinbad asked

Sakura held up the frame "This is the reason for my searching for dungeons; I need to find more djinns in order to complete this mirror."

"Why?" asked Sinbad

"That's my business" Sakura responded putting it back over her head

"You are a strong girl." Observed the chief smiling at her "Imuchakk's custom is that the strong get the most hospitality. You and this boy Sinbad have both conquered dungeons; towers that not even hundreds of armies soldiers could do. You have my respect."

Sakura smiled and bowed her head "Thank you."

Pipirika jumped up "You should stay for tonight's celebrations!"

Sakura looked at her in confusion "Celebration?"

"Yeah that's a great idea" Sinbad said grinning at her; though Sakura couldn't help but get a sense of mischief behind this boys demeanour "You're a dungeon conqueror too so I want to talk to you more!"

'Oh boy'

* * *

They explained to her that Imuchakk had a tradition of hunting these sea creatures known as Raging Unicorns that would sometimes come to their land; as rite of passage; for a boy to become a man they would have to defeat one and when they did as custom they would receive a warriors name. Hina had apparently finally defeated one and there would be a huge festival known as Maharagan. Sakura had attempted to decline but then a though occurred to her; she could simply sneak away when the festivities were over and go to the dungeon. That way no one else would have to get involved.

Pipirika had been kind enough to give Sakura a fur cloak to cover her from the snow; she was outside getting a better look at the village. The sky had already become dark and it made Sakura wonder exactly where she was before for it to be night again.

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece_

It became clear to Sakura what was the exact meaning behind that; the rules of looking glass per say. She had realised that the mirror had indeed taken her to the part of the world where she would be able to find the next shard.

'Meaning all I have to do is get the next shard; repeat the chant and I'm out of here'

There was a large feast set up outside; people were drinking all over and eating; children were running around happily singing and playing games; there was music played on instruments Sakura had never seen before in her life. There was an aura of joy as the festivities continued to go late into the night.

Sakura had attempted to keep a distance from all of it though; not matter how much fun it appeared but news of yet another traveller arriving in Imuchakk arrived and she was soon dragged into the centre of the celebrations. That was thanks to Pipirika as well who pulled her along to one of the bonfires.

"Your hair's funny colour" a little girl said as she seated herself next to Sakura and started to gently tug on her short tresses.

Sakura smiled "It is isn't it?"

"Yup" she said as she continued to pull on Sakura's hair.

The pinkette giggled as one of the women reprimanded the girl for acting that way and apologised for her but Sakura said that it was alright.

She heard some murmurs coming from a group of Imuchakk men "I heard she defeated some of our best men."

"Yeah; that's what I heard as well." said another glancing at her

"That girl?"

"Yes"

"But she's so small!"

"I know but apparently she's really strong that's what my brother said to me."

"She's actually pretty cute."

"Well what are you waiting for? Go make your move."

"I'm just observing." He said raising his hands "I'm not out of my mind."

"Come on; it wouldn't hurt right?"

Sakura smirked; oh but it would; she had a reputation back home for being merciless when it came to men and their antics and putting them in their place. She'd damage their pride; egos and sometimes physical parts.

One of the men advanced towards her; Sakura pretended not to notice-which was hard considering how big this race was.

"Excuse me?"

Sakura turned as she felt a tap on her shoulder; she looked up at the Imuchakk. His features were the same as the others; he had short blue hair and the same eyes as the others; the pinkette looked way up at him.

"Yes?"

"Uh..."

"Come on." One of his friends called from behind him while the rest of the group looked at him as well.

He held up his hand "Would you like to join me for a dance?"

Sakura smiled sweetly "Sure on one condition."

"Condition?"

Sakura grinned; maybe she could have some fun before she took off.

Few minutes later Sakura was lounging back at the bon fire eating some of the food; she had been a bit worried to try it at first but then after the first small bite she relished in the flavour of the meat and took more.

Pipirika came over to Sakura to sit beside her "Hey where are those boys you bewitched?"

Sakura gave a cruel smile "Probably icing their hands."

The condition Sakura had offered in exchange for a dance was that she had to be beaten in an arm wrestling contest. A contest of strength was something that always proved to be her best assets so naturally she won. Though she may have been a bit harsh when she sent them crashing through the boulder they were using as a table.

'Oh well' she thought with a shrug

Pipirika offered Sakura a cup "Here drink up!"

Sakura got the familiar scent of alcohol; though it was slightly different than the smell she usually got when she was around her teacher who was a heavy drinker she could still scent it.

"No thanks" Sakura said nervously raising her hand up "I-I'm not a drinker"

She was also underage; plus even if she wanted to drink she had to stay sober so that she could sneak off later on when everyone was asleep. She had to get to that dungeon no matter-

"Hey how come you're not drinking?" Sinbad said coming to her side

The pinkette narrowed her eyes as Sinbad slung his arm over her shoulder; she could smell alcohol on his breath.

'He's my age yet his drinking honestly...' Sakura thought rolling her eyes; she then glanced at his arm over her shoulder. She had just met this boy and he was already trying to get friendly with her.

'Not on my watch' she thought removing Sinbad's arm from her shoulder "I just don't drink."

Sinbad gave her an odd look like she was some kind of unknown entity which just annoyed her.

"Quit looking at me like that" she said heatedly "It's not that strange."

"Nah it's not that..."Sinbad trailed his face slightly flushed red; he had been partying for hours with the rest of the Imuchakk; he had eaten; flirted with the women; danced a bit and drank everything that was poured into the giant bowl for him. All in all it was a good night.

"What?" Sakura asked putting a sigh into her question; she tucked her knees to her chest as she looked at Sinbad.

"Your eyes...I've never seen anyone with eyes like yours before." he told her groggy "They're really beautiful."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him; she hoped that wasn't an attempt to hit on her. Aside from it being the oldest trick in the book she was already in love with someone else. She couldn't help but smile when a certain raven haired boy popped into her mind; it was both a pleasant and painful thing to think about.

'Sasuke...'

Something was triggered within Sakura at the thought of that name; her desperation to start moving again-something that had been calmed by the festivities was once again heightened. She couldn't wait much longer. She had to get to that dungeon.

Pipirika stood up "I'm going to go look for my brother; it's almost time for the ceremony."

Sakura nodded as the Imuchakk women left them to go in search of her brother. Sakura couldn't help but wonder if there was something going on with Hina. His expression appeared blank when they were talking to the chief but Sakura saw something in his eyes that made her worry; it was envy with a hint of desperation. For what she didn't know though

Sinbad took the drink that Pipirika had left in Sakura's hand and started to chug it down; Sakura frowned at him "Take it easy; you don't want to pass out before the ceremony."

"I'm not going to pass-

Sinbad fell across Sakura's lap; she could hear faint snores coming from him and she sighed. The chief looked over at them and started laughing.

"He's out cold is he?"

Sakura nodded "That he is."

"We'll take him to the house." The chief said

Sakura got up manoeuvring Sinbad so that he was hunched over her back "That's alright I'll take him; I'm kind of tired myself."

"Alright"

* * *

Since Imuchakk was a place that didn't have any travellers there weren't any inns for them to stay at so they would be staying with the chief. Sakura discovered found that there were actually only two rooms and one for the chief and the other for his children meaning that Sakura would be sharing a room with Sinbad and Hina and Pipirika that night.

'I can leave before they come back' Sakura thought smiling as she placed Sinbad down; he was still in the clothes he had borrowed from Imuchakk; it was a bit thick and would be uncomfortable when he slept.

'Should I take it off?' Sakura wondered and then shook her head; what did it matter if he slept comfortably or not? All that mattered was that he slept.

Sinbad's eyes fluttered open slowly as she started shifting around "Wha...

"Go to sleep; you're completely out of it." Sakura ordered

Sinbad muttered something but he started removing his clothing so he was no longer in the thick covering; only a thin white cloth with blue piping comfortable for sleeping. Sakura thought that was the end of it but then Sinbad began reaching for the end of his remaining clothing causing her to squeal and grab his hands.

"Hey; hey; hey; hey; hey; hey; hey!" Sakura panicked holding his hands as his head bobbed up and down. "Keep this on!"

"Okay..." Sinbad said sounding tired and...disappointed?

"So glad I don't drink" Sakura said; she recalled a time when Tsunade was so drunk when she took Sakura out for dinner she poured alcohol in Sakura's cup when she wasn't looking; if Sakura hadn't smelt it in time she would've drunk it.

"You're missing out." Sinbad said swaying

Pushing him back with a light shove Sinbad fell back onto the sleeping mat. Sakura relaxed and move to the other side where another mat was laid out. Sakura laid down on the other one. When there was nothing but eerie silence; within it Sakura started to think.

'The dungeons not too far from here according to the chief' Sakura thought turning on her side 'I can leave when they all fall asleep.'

"Ngh Sakura..." Sinbad said rolling over to look at her "Tell me a story."

Okay now she was really convinced that Sinbad was completely wasted; he was muttering and mumbling nonsense.

Sakura was sure if she stayed silent he would just go back to sleep but then she felt someone shake her from behind. A hand gripping her shoulder and shaking her.

"Sakura!" Sinbad whined

"Go to sleep!" she ordered prying his hand off of her "And get back to your own mat."

"But I wanted to talk to you." Sinbad said "I want to hear about your travels."

"Well there's not much to hear." Sakura responded "I only started travelling a few weeks ago."

"What about the dungeon you entered?" asked Sinbad "Where was it?"

Sakura sighed; it was clear that he wasn't going to give her any peace until he got what he wanted.

"You're drunk; just sleep it off and-

She stilled; Sakura sensed another presence in the room someone else was in there and they weren't invited.

'Who is it though?'

"Go to sleep Sinbad; I'm tired as well." Sakura ordered turning back around.

"Okay..."Sinbad muttered closing his eyes "But you have to tell me the story soon..."

The girl sighed in relief when she heard Sinbad's snores; he didn't need to know that there was someone else in there watching them. Sakura planned to confront whoever this person was soon. Closing her eyes the pinkette pretended to drift off to sleep; making her breaths come out shallow as she waited.

There was indeed someone watching the two from above; standing on a piece of log that formed part of the house.

A single figure watched the two teens as they slept peacefully; with eyes like a snake cornering its prey. His sights set on the purple haired boy who was muttering in his sleep.

"What a piece of cake." He muttered standing above he was about to leap down when a voice behind him whispered in his ear.

"Oh really?"

Complete shock overcame him as he spun around; he held two blades with wires attached to them. He threw them at her; the wires wrapped around her body binding her arms and legs together. Sakura was taken slightly by surprise; whoever this person was they moved almost as well as Sakura in darkness.

Crashing to the ground; the person landed on top of Sakura she then realised that he was a lot smaller than her.

"You caught me off guard but that doesn't matter." he raised his weapon in the air above her head "I'll kill you and him easily-

"Not so fast." Sinbad said holding his unsheathed sword at the person; his vessel started to react and from the outside people were able to see a large amount of light coming from within it.

Sakura felt the wires loosen around her as the weight left her body; she quickly untangled herself and went to a lantern lighting it allowing them to get a better look at their attempted killer but what they both saw shocked them.

"This is..." Sinbad trailed; his mouth hanging open as he choked on his words.

Sakura while surprised was not too shocked as this wasn't an unfamiliar sight for her "A child..."

Lying on the floor unconscious was a boy; a young boy several years younger than them with white hair; half of his face was wrapped up and hidden. Sakura got a piece of rope and went to tie up the boy securing his hands.

Sakura looked at Sinbad; her eyes filled with suspicion "You wouldn't happen to have any idea why this child tried to attack us do you?"

Sinbad appeared in thought; holding his chin "Maybe..."

Not too long after Hina and Pipirika arrived having heard the noise from in the house; Sinbad and Sakura explained to them about being attacked.

"What do you we do now?" asked Pipirika looking down at the boy.

Sakura placed the boys head on her shoulder as she started to shake him awake "Hey wake up."

Soon enough his eyes fluttered open as he let out a groan; in mere seconds his eyes went wide in shock before his eyes began darting around. He moved away from Sakura; the pinkette moved and stood beside Sinbad and the others.

"Who are you?" Sinbad asked with his arms crossed; a clear frown and serious expression placed on his face. "Where are you from?"

The boy simply scoffed and averted his eyes.

"This brat..." Hina said frowning

Sinbad didn't deter at first as he continued "Are you from Parthevia's troops?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes and glanced at Sinbad "So he was after you."

Taking steady steps forward Sinbad crouched down so that he and the boy were at eye level.

"For such a young child to become an assassin is pretty remarkable."

The boy sneered at Sinbad causing the purple haired teen to frown "Hey what's with the attitude?"

At that Sakura felt her sweat drop in disbelief; unable to comprehend how he could speak to his attempted assassin like he was some child who had earned a time out. This wasn't a normal child; this was an assassin and having come from a village where children younger than him became ninja and joined the anbu forces taking on assassination missions and such.

Sakura looked closer at the boy; she sensed the fluttering again and it was almost as if it was trying to tell her something.

"Sinbad; I don't think you should-

But he did not heed her words as he continued "You shouldn't be doing that at this age; you'll make your parents sad."

Grey eyes glared right at gold ones; blazing with hatred "Shut up"

"What did you say? Some attitude you've got towards people older than you." Sinbad commented

Sakura sighed and decided to speak up "Sinbad he may be a child but he is also an assassin. You should be a bit more cautious."

"Sakura's right" agreed Hina "You should be more wary."

"I know" Sinbad said turning back to her "That's why I'm asking him first hand; you need to teach guys like this from the basics firsthand."

Smacking her forehead Sakura gave up.

"Do you understand?" Sinbad asked turning back to the boy and pointing at him "Do you think you can speak like that because you're an assassin? Don't you think that your mom and dad would be disappointed?"

"Sinbad" Sakura snapped looking at him "That's enough."

"But Sakura-

The pinkette gave him a stern look; her lips pressed together in a thin line and her eyes narrowed as her brows creased; her fists clenched "Do you honestly believe that a child like this would still have parents?"

Sakura's question seemed to take everyone back as they pondered the pinkette's words; this time she was the one to step forward and crouch down beside Sinbad to look at the boy.

"That look in his eyes...belongs to someone who has shut off all their emotions."

The child started to laugh hysterically; his shoulders shook as he spluttered out into a fit of laugher "The hag's right! I killed my parents when I was six!" he shouted looking directly at Sinbad a sick grin breaking out "What is it are you scared now!?"

A loud slap echoed throughout the house as they all watched the white haired boys head snap to the side with Sinbad's hand raised.

"Such things; don't say them with pride." Sinbad stated

The young assassin known as Ja'far stared at Sinbad and Sakura with hostility in his eyes but he couldn't help waver a bit at their next words.

"I pity you." Sinbad said before looking at Sakura "You know what you said really didn't help."

"But it's the truth" Sakura said unwavering; she closed her eyes for a moment "People with eyes like his are usually a lost cause. They are rejected by the rest of the world and therefore resent it to such an extent that they lose their humanity; caring about nothing and no one but themselves."

Sakura knew what she was saying was the truth; it didn't matter which world she was in. Humans were humans and the same principal applied anywhere. She had seen many cases just like him and they were all the same. From those close to her to those who weren't. She knew because she saw; she observed and she learned. In her world; where demons were placed into people who were treated like monsters; families who disregarded and smite one another for power and revenge; people considered to be a blight on the world and hated because of their heritage; those with too little power and those with too much power. She had learned from all of these that people could be brought to a point where nothing else mattered other than surviving.

"Oi that's-

Sakura continued "Of course it takes something rather great to bring you to that point."

Leaning closer to the boy; her face mere centimetres away her face changed from serious to sadden; eyes filled with sympathy that she had earned from seeing all those in her world who have endured and ended up in this kind of position. Most of the world refused to see what was behind them and in the past she may have been like the rest of the world had it not been for a certain blonde haired; blue eyed knuckle head she called her friend and teammate she never would have learnt that such a tragic human usually had a tragic story behind them.

Sakura's hand reached out as she gently allowed her hand to fall on top of his head "Something very tragic forcing you to take a path you didn't want to in order to survive."

Ja'far snapped his head before he shot Sakura and Sinbad a deadly look "Don't look down on me! YOU'RE JUST KIDS YOURSELVES"

With that he threw his now free arm out slashing it against Sinbad and Sakura's cheek as a smoke bomb was dropped from the hole in the roof he had used to climb in. While they were interrogating him they hadn't considered if there were any other companions of his with. It seems that it was a mistake for as the smoke cleared the boy had escaped with two of his companions help. Yet they could hear a shrill scream ring through the village.

"I'LL DEFINATELY KILL THE BOTH OF YOU."

They watched from a window as the three figures vanished from sight.

"Are you two alright?" Pipirika asked looking at their wounds.

Sinbad wiped the blood from the cut away "I'm fine" he turned his attention towards Sakura grasping her hand "That was rather dangerous getting so close to an assassin."

Sakura pulled her hand back "An assassin? Here I thought you were scolding a child for not having proper manners."

Sinbad saw what she had done and pulled a face; Sakura walked closer to him and gently touched his cheek; her hand began to glow green and the small wound started to vanish. She stepped away as soon as she was done.

"What..." Sinbad said in wonder as he touched his cheek.

Sakura did the same for herself; exposing a cut to this weather would not be a very pleasant experience.

"What an amazing ability." Hina said

Sakura looked down "It is useful for especially for someone like me."

"Someone like you?" asked Pipirika

Sakura didn't respond to them although her thoughts were swimming; she meant someone who always managed to get unnecessarily injured due to her own recklessness.

"That aside; who were those people?" asked Hina

Sinbad shrugged his shoulders though it was not because he didn't know the answer for he did "Probably people from Parthevia army. They are after me."

"Why is that?" Sakura asked; although only knowing Sinbad for a short time and judging from his personality she could only imagine the kind of trouble someone like him could cause.

"I disobeyed military commands and a little more..." he trailed not finishing

"Aren't you scared?" asked Hina "You can't return to your county; you're a target for assassins. This may be the rest of your life you know?"

Sinbad walked pass all of them and towards his sword lying on the ground "I'm just doing what my heart tells me to do; I'm following my own destiny that is all."

The house fell silent; Sakura heard the fluttering once more and felt some kind of disturbed presence when she turned all she saw though was Hina standing there starring at Sinbad with eyes of disbelief and envy.

'What is this about?' Sakura thought as the fluttering noises finally stopped; she had been doing her best to heed Yunan's advice in looking and listening more carefully to this world yet every fibre of her being was telling her that she did not belong in it and therefore there was no need to try and truly see it.

Just then they heard someone shouting from the outside indicating that it would soon be time for Hina to receive his warrior name.

"It's time big bro" said Pipirika excited

"Can you go before me?" asked Hina looking at them

"Sure" Sakura said being the first to turn and take her leave along with Sinbad and Pipirika following shortly after her. However the pinkette felt that there was something about to happen; something that was about to go dangerously wrong and she was going to be caught up in the middle of it.

* * *

Sakura had to admit; she had a lot of flaws and faults. She didn't have much she could pride herself on as a ninja when she had first started out. She thought that she had to be special in some way; that she was a little bit different than everyone else and had something; something that would give her an edge over everyone else. Yet she didn't know what it was but she always believed it was there. She thought her level of knowledge was a valuable asset yet she was unable to do much of anything at the beginning of her years as a ninja. She thought her analytical abilities which were praised once by her teammate and love interest were an amazing skill yet she was always too blinded by her own single minded thoughts that she failed to see the bigger picture. She thought her chakra control was something unique yet she didn't bother to hone it and use it to its fullest potential until after a few bitter years of training.

Now she was able to use her knowledge to the fullest to form strategies and plans that would ensure success of her missions; with her polished and perfected chakra control she could now use medical jutsu and had super strength that could destroy mountains. Another great asset she had fully awakened within her was her analytical skills; her ability to take in information quickly and process it able to predict and see things clearer. It worked especially well on people; being able to figure out what kind of person they were; their true motives or what they may be hiding.

Now Sakura had noticed quickly that when Pipirika spoke of the coming of age ceremony and Sinbad speaking of dungeons and his djinn that Hina was quick to fall silent. It was then that Sakura felt the disturbed fluttering. Whatever it was

When Sinbad and Pipirika had joined in with the rest of the crowd to wait for Hina; Sakura had turned back to find him leaving the village and going straight into the mountains through a blizzard. Sakura had followed shortly after behind him and ended up at a large building in the middle of nowhere. She had watched him enter where the entrance shone brightly.

"Is that another dungeon Beleth?" she asked

The headband shimmered in response "I see."

To think that she would be lead here of all places; it felt as if fate was giving her a sign and she entered without hesitance.

 **THAT'S ALL FOR NOW BUT LOOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER UPDATE REALLY SOON**

 **DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW**


	4. Cat and mouse

**HALLALUYA**

 **I AM UPDATING MY LOVELY READERS AND THAT IS A REALLY GOOD SIGN BECAUSE JUST RECENTLY I GOT MY FINAL RESULT AND PASSED.**

 **I told myself that if I failed I wouldn't go onto fanfiction ever again; luckily it did not come to that.**

 **Extra long chapter so I hope you enjoy**

* * *

Sakura stared in awe at the sight of this dungeon; it was very different from her first one. Beneath her was clear water that shimmered from the light produced by the many clumps of crystals that decorated what appeared to be the inside of a cave but what was truly beautiful; were the butterflies that were fluttering above. However she had learned from the previous not to be deceived by the appearance.

First she would search for Hina and then she would make her way to the djinn. It would be the only way to leave in any case.

Sadly Sakura was unaware that it was not only her and Hina that had entered the dungeon.

When Sakura took her first step she found that the floor was incredible slippery. She began to slide across the iced floor towards a giant whole where a clump of sharp crystals stood waiting to pierce through any intruders. Placing chakra in her feet Sakura was able to plant her feet firmly on the ground once more; if she could climb walls with it and walk on water keeping a grip on a slippery floor had to be possible.

Sakura stood up carefully as she started to make her way through once more hoping that Hina would be alright.

'Since he wasn't in the clump of crystals I take it he went through here at least.'

* * *

As usual more time was taken than expected to make it through the dungeon; as she continued she noticed more and more pink butterflies gathering around her. Then one landed on her shoulder. Sakura paid it no mind until she felt a stringing sensation that was quick. She smacked her hand over and when she looked to inspect she saw blood. More of them began swarming around her.

It dawned on her that these butterflies were carnivores.

Sakura started running to get away from the winged creatures but they continued to chase of her.

"BELETH" she screamed throwing her arm out; her hand transformed once again and dark flames shot out frying them to a crisp. She sighed in relief as she felt the tiny bite marks; luckily it was nothing serious. She couldn't get injured in just under an hour of being in this dungeon. She refused to.

While this dungeon was much different than the one before Sakura; it had a more majestic touch to it yet that only seemed to add to the danger of deception. There was only one path to follow as well; so out of options and not feeling all that much creative she took it. Unfortunately there were more dangers present aside from the dungeon itself.

"Oh are you kidding me?" Sakura hissed looking around; a frown painted on her face as she peered at the wall with the clusters of crystals coming out of it. After following the path and having not come across any dungeon monsters the pinkette finally believed that things were looking up only to be brought back down when she discovered that the path she took lead to nothing but a dead end. There was nothing more than a beautiful if not disappointing lake at the end of the path.

'Nothing but water...' Sakura thought before she felt Beleth react

"What is it?" she asked hearing his voice-it was bad enough when she had an inner she had just managed to rid herself of and now there was a new voice in her head; she wondered at times what separated her from a mental patient?

Sakura looked at the water; there had to be a way through this. Hina must've come through here as well unless she missed some secret passage.

'Secret passage?' the thought occurred to her; sometimes things were not always what they seemed. If she wanted to make it she had to see things differently. She shouldn't be looking for a usual way out because this wasn't a usual place. This was a dungeon were anything was possible.

Gasping she glanced down at the water; the water...

It wasn't a very bright option giving the temperature. There wasn't any way though; taking a breath Sakura dived in; her determination set.

The current did most of the work once she was beneath the surface; she was swept away but allowed her body to be carried as she focused on holding her breath and keeping herself calm so that she would not be tightly gripped by her bodies plead for air.

'I can do this' she thought strongly

She would never give up or give into this world; her plans to return would be realised and she would attain it at any cost. Yunan had warned her that there was much to fear about this world but this world had yet to discover what she-Sakura Haruno-kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf was capable of. She had a determination and fire that always helped her push through and never surrender no matter how overpowered she was. She had a drive; a motive to return home. Her heart-would always lie with her village and friends and nothing would stop her.

After several minutes Sakura felt herself begin to slip into a state of unconsciousness; her thoughts had distracted her from her lungs burning for oxygen; her mind was strong that was always a certain but her body was another story.

Opening her eyes she saw that the current was moving towards a light which surely meant it lead to the surface; she pushed chakra to her feet to push forward and get to the top finally she burst out of the water; taking in a huge gulp of air in relief. She quickly exited the water coughing slightly as she had been holding her breath for longer than she had been use to. A wonder filled her on how it was even possible for anyone to attain such resilience. Finally she reached the water's surface.

Sakura was sadly unaware that there was more than one way to get through a dungeon and that there was no single way like she had believed. That she would discover at another time though.

Then she heard it; the ruckus from just up ahead of the dark cavern meant to be a path; someone was there. She heard the distinct crumbling of rocks when something clashes with them in a powerful blow.

Sakura continued running as she heard some kind of animal screeching but then it stopped?

There was nothing but silence for a few short moments and thus encouraged Sakura to move faster to see what had happened.

When she came through she was surprised to say the least when she indeed saw Hina standing alive and well but with five other figures-three which she was familiar with. They were the assassins that she had caught trying to kill Sinbad back in the village. The child wasn't hard to miss along with the other two. Then there was the fourth and fifth that Sakura didn't recognise; a young man who he seemed well acquainted with them; from his attire-golden armour she could tell he wasn't like the other three so just who was he? Then the fifth was obviously a woman, despite her white attire that hid most of her body including her face.

Then not far from them was a dungeon creature that resembled a crab but much larger and fierce looking well she was sure it would be if it didn't have a weapon sticking out of it.

The three assassins stood; Vittel; Mahad and chief of the assassins Ja'far. They had gone into the dungeon under the orders of the general of Parthevia DrakonNol Henrius Govius Menudias Partenuvonomias Dumid Os Kartanon-or as he had been nicknamed Drakon a young man with dark green hair and sharp eyes that were similar to that of snakes but they did not hold the same predatory gleam. Then there was the women who stood; her face covered only her eyes showing this was Parthevia's Magician councillor Falan.

Sakura looked at the five with caution as she continued to keep herself well hidden in the shadows. This was obviously going to make her dungeon capturing a bit more complicated had she not angered the young boy perhaps she would believe it be easier.

"Finished in one second" Ja'far said looking at the creature "Let me play around some more Vittel"

"Sorry boss."

Walking carelessly pass Hina as if he were not there the spear was removed as the dungeon monster vanished a small crystal stood in its stead.

"What's this?" Ja'far asked picking up the stone

"A key to open the door." explained Drakon

Sakura was in all honesty contemplating whether or not she should reveal herself now and further involved herself with these people she knew if she did it would complicated her aim but at the same time they were out numbering Hina.

'I'll wait and see what happens' she concluded as they weren't as of yet attacking Hina. Sakura hid behind one of the clusters of crystals that protruded on the walls.

"Return that" Hina demanded them and it seemed that they finally gave him a glance.

"The one that was with Sinbad...where is he?" Ja'far asked; his intent to kill rising as well as his bloodlust.

Ignoring the question Hina spoke; his voice laced with attempted confidence and intimidation though all for nought "That's mine"

"Let's leave and head to the treasure room; I'm certain he'll be there" said Drakon stepping away and moving to the gate

Sakura bit her lip; so far it seemed that Sinbad had quite a few enemies and this may not have a good impact having she was associated with him.

'I wonder just how much trouble he's going to be for me' Sakura stopped in thought

Hina suddenly yelled for them to stop and then went to attack the group of five; Sakura rolled her eyes at him. Men were honestly too hot-headed sometimes.

'Guess I don't have much choice.' she thought watching Hina knocked back two of the men Vittel and Mahad. They got back up quick enough though and then Ja'far gave them an order.

"Don't hold back."

Mahad's massive body began to grown in muscle as a dark aura seemed to surround him and Vittel's arms began extending beyond his own body length. Ja'far stood in the centre of them, despite being the smallest out of them he appeared as the most vicious. In Sakura's eyes that was the case at least.

Deciding that she had hidden enough and that it was time to act Sakura leapt from her current hiding place and landed gracefully behind Hina-who appeared as shocked as everyone else at her sudden materialisation.

"S-Sakura-

"You look like you need help."

Ja'far frowned when he saw her while Drakon looked confused "Who is this girl?"

"She was with Sinbad..." Ja'far said "Where is he?"

Sakura looked at the assassin unwavering at his deathly aura "I wouldn't know."

Far from satisfied with her answer Ja'far rushed forward heading to her, his weapons pointed and ready to kill.

"WHERE IS HE?"

Sakura ducked as Ja'far swung his weapons at her, the wires attached the blades didn't seem to hinder his attack-in fact it seemed to enhance it as Ja'far pulled his weapons back by the string sending it flying at her. Instead of drawing back at her like she predicted the string wrapped around Sakura immobilising her.

"Got you!" Ja'far exclaimed

"Sakura!" Hina yelled as watched her struggle against the bonds however he was dealing with Mahad and Vittel at the moment.

Sakura smirked suddenly "Not bad...but"

Sakura got up from her bent position and twisted her body around sending Ja'far who was holding onto the restraints into the air. The wires released her form as Ja'far drew back.

Before the battle could go any further however there was a flash of bright light and then bolts of blue lightening flashing around. Everyone turned to the source and saw Sinbad standing with his djinn weapon out holding it up.

"Bararaq Saiqa"

Bolts of lightning rained down towards everyone but none of them actually hit. Sakura wondered if it was because Sinbad wished it or if it was purely coincidence and he didn't have much control over his djinn.

Sakura had learned how to use her djinn weapon in that time she was wondering around in this world because Beleth had offered to teach her.

" _There are many dangers in this world and it would be wise to learn how to use my power that you have earned. I am certain it will help you achieve your goal."_

That was what he said and she was quick to believe him. She needed to do whatever it took to get out of this world and return to hers. Using power that she had earned didn't seem like a bad idea at all. She thought she might have had a problem using her djinn since he told her that she needed to use her magoi to summon his power and she wasn't entirely sure what that was-turns out that magoi was similar to chakra and that everyone had it-even someone from another world. She just needed a catalyst to use it and that was her djinn. Though Beleth had told her that she was yet to master his full power Sakura was confident in her ability to control it, she had great chakra control since she was young; therefore controlling another type of energy within her wasn't difficult. It just took a bit more concentration since she had to first differentiate between magoi and chakra as it felt similar when she attempted to use them but that didn't long. In under a month she was able to use her djinn weapon.

Sakura looked at Sinbad as he came down towards them "That was pretty dangerous you two. Hina rushing into the dungeon and then Sakura running after him without warning,"

The pinkette rolled her eyes at the young man "It's not as if I was obligated to tell you."

"A dungeon is no place for a young lady." Sinbad stated

Glaring at him slightly with her arms crossed over her chest Sakura turned to the other men; Drakon came towards them.

"It's been a long time Sinbad." He said though the statement was something usually used as a friendly gesture it didn't seem like it in this case.

Sinbad decided to play coy "Huh who are you? I never forget a woman's face, a man's..."

"You bastard"

The purple haired boy laughed "Serious as always I see. I knew we would meet again Drakon."

Drakon narrowed his eyes at Sinbad as he called him by the nickname that Sinbad had come up for him not too long ago when he complained that Drakon's actual name was far too long.

The women with her face covered spoke next "Nice to meet you, I am the empires mage Falan."

Sakura got a disturbing feeling from that women, there was obviously something ominous about her but more than anything Sakura couldn't feel any real presence from her unlike the others. With her skills as a ninja Sakura's senses and instincts had become extremely sharp compared to a normal person including the ability to sense the presence of another person-by their chakra usually but not in this case, it was pure instinct and right now her instincts were telling her that there was something off about Falan.

"SINBAD" Ja'far yelled seeing the older boy; he went straight to attack him "You are dead."

"Wait," said Sinbad attempting to reason with the young assassin "Now's not the time to try and kill each other."

Sinbad blocked Ja'far's attack with his sword making him draw back "Shut up; I just want to kill you."

Sakura sighed 'Males...'

"Hey big guy," called Vittel as he and Mahad moved closer towards Sinbad, Sakura and Hina "We'll take you on."

Hina rushed forth without a second thought to attack them as Sinbad tried to call him back but then Ja'far went to attack Sinbad once more, his blades scattering with the wires wrapping around Sinbad's body as Sakura managed to jump away before she was entangled as well.

"Sinbad!" exclaimed Sakura as she saw Ja'far coming from behind him with his blade; she thought he was done for when suddenly Sinbad raised his arm-his fist hitting Ja'far in his face.

"Act like a child a little bit." Sinbad said calmly

Sakura watched with curious eyes, how he knew where he was going to be attacked from surprised her.

'It's as if he knew where the attack was coming from long before.' She thought in awe

Not able to spend much time to admire considering that Hina was taking on both Vittel and Mahad; Sakura went to assist while Sinbad dealt with Ja'far.

As Mahad prepared to strike Hina who was on the ground now, Sakura delivered a powerful kick on his back at sent him flying into Vittel and into a cluster of crystals.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura exclaimed happily

Drakon looked at her in shock "What the hell?"

Hina stared "What amazing strength."

Sakura smirked as she watched them climb up from the rubble and set her hate filled glares. Ja'far glanced back at his subordinates and shouted at them.

"YOU FOOLS GET UP AND END HER."

Vittel and Mahad resumed to attack her, Sakura's fist met with the much larger one of Mahad before Vittel moved behind to launch a surprise attack but then Hina stepped up behind to stop him but Vittel wrapped his long arms around Hina choking him.

Sakura held up against Mahad, his strength was amazing but it wasn't anywhere near Sakura's true strength-one who had to ability to demolish huge boulders with ease, she wasn't a push over and she would make sure that they knew that.

Pumping a bite more chakra into her legs and arms Sakura strengthened her stance before drawing back her free hand and punching Mahad sending him flying back once more.

"Mahad!" exclaimed Vittel

Sinbad decided to intervene once more by using the power of his djinn but before he had to chance to use his attack again something struck him from behind. Sakura watched in alarm as Sinbad clutched his arm in pain.

"Sin-

Sakura gasped as she felt something shoot into her from the front; she looked up at where the attack came from and saw Drakon something silver in his hands. It looked like a gun to her.

"That is a dungeon weapon," said Falan

"This time I've got you!" Ja'far said throwing his weapon in for the kill however Hina managed to move in front of Sinbad and block it with his spear before grabbing both Sinbad and Sakura and jumping into the ice cold water.

'Damn not this again!' Sakura thought as she took a breath before they descended under but as Hina with his incredible speed under water swam with the two teens; looking back they saw that the way they came from was completely frozen in an instant. Sakura wasn't sure how that happened but it looked like some kind of magic.

" _Perhaps it was that mage my king" said Beleth_

This made Sakura wonder once again what exactly had she gotten herself into?

* * *

"That water was damn cold." Sinbad stated now lying on his back; he glanced at Sakura who was taking some short breaths, they had been under water longer than anticipated. After the way they came from froze over Hina managed to get them to the surface once again. It seemed that this dungeon had many tunnels under the water.

"You okay?"

"Fine," she replied quickly

Sinbad sighed before looking up "You saved us Hina."

"Why did you come?" Hina asked solemnly as he sat further away from the two looking down "Why are you here?"

Sakura knew that the question wasn't directed at her but at Sinbad, Sakura assumed that there was something going on between them. The way Hina looked at Sinbad when he drew out his power was envious-she had seen that plenty of times with Naruto and Sasuke it just took her a little longer to place it.

"I will obtain power in this dungeon" Hina said strongly

Sakura rolled her eyes 'What is with men and power?'

"This power you search for...what is it?" Sinbad asked "You're already plenty strong."

Hina appeared surprised but he didn't answer them. Sakura stood up and ringed out her short hair to get as much water out of it as possible.

"Shouldn't we get a move on?" she asked "Those guys might be ahead of us already."

Sinbad nodded and stood up as well "Hey...are you here for the djinn's power as well?"

Looking over at Sinbad; Sakura raised her eyebrow at him "It's not really the djinn I'm after."

* * *

It hadn't taken too long for them to catch up with the other group; however it seemed that they had already made the djinn appear. The djinn had the appearance of a cat-a big blue cat lazing on the ground and in front of him stood Drakon, Ja'far, Mahad and Vittel but there was no Falan.

Little did they know that when the djinn was summoned having sensed that Falan was of the negative world the djinn Valefor-who had a much mightier appearance that Sakura, Sinbad and Hina had missed had disposed of her before as he realised what she was.

"It seems everyone is finally here." Valefor said pleasantly before moving up to tower over everyone as they stood in line "From the seven of you I will choose one. With a king's power, you can destroy countries or build an unbreakable wall. Then who will become king?"

Sakura wasn't interested in such things, she wasn't interested in obtaining anything aside from the shards to complete her mirror a djinn would be a bi-product to her; she believed in her own power but Beleth had expressed to her many times how crucial it was that she attain as many djinns as possible. She wasn't sure what kind of troubles this world held for her so she believed it was better to be safe than sorry.

Everyone else seemed to have decided to take on the task as well including the assassins group; Parthevia general, Sinbad and Hina. Valefor told them that it was anyone's gain.

'What's going to happen now?' Sakura asked

" _Most likely Valefor will give you all a challenge; whoever succeeds first will attain his power."_

"Guess I'll join in the challenge as well." Sakura said just after Sinbad said he would be joining too.

Hina frowned at the two "You two already have djinns! Why would you want more power?"

Sakura and Sinbad looked over at Hina; Sakura spoke in a calm tone "It's not really the djinns power I'm after but if I thought that I would get permission from any of you guys to get what I want from this djinn I wouldn't be participating."

Valefor looked at Sakura and gasped "Ah, now I see it! You're not supposed to be here."

"No kidding." Sakura remarked

"Well now this is a first; as much as I would like to give it to you now you know the rules."

Sakura nodded "A king's permission is acquired to achieve that which is desired."

Everyone else just looked at the pink haired girl and the djinn in confusion.

Valefor sighed softly "Maybe a woman would be a better choice."

"HUUUUUHHHH" everyone exclaimed loudly

"Hey, hey!" exclaimed Sinbad "Don't even think about it."

"What?" Sakura asked innocently

"You can't do that!" Hina said "We're supposed to be competing-

"And you will" Valefor said before looking down at Sinbad and Sakura "You two are forbidden from using Baal and Beleth."

The two nodded their heads agreeing to the terms

Hina frowned at Sinbad and Sakura "I won't hand over the power to you!"

Sinbad smirked "I won't had it over as well. I want more power."

'Thought it once I'll think it again-Men' Sakura thought shaking her head. She was surrounded by a bunch of power hungry men and right now it didn't seem like anyone was going to be playing friends.

Valefor smiled and squeezed his hand so tight, purple liquid began to ooze from it and then started to take form into something.

"This will be your task," Valefor explained as the ooze took the form of a small cat like creature similar to the djinn present "My double Minifor!"

"CUTE!" Sakura gushed

Everyone stared at the cat that seemed to be really tired and swaying; it was a real confidence booster when they heard their task.

"Everyone must try to catch Minifor; that is your final trial. The first one to catch him will be the one to attain the king's power."

"WHAT?" They all asked in disbelief

Valefor held up what appeared to be an hour glass of some sort "But if no one catches him no one will leave the dungeon and you may not use violence."

"What the hell?" Sakura asked in disbelief

Ignoring her comment Valefor turned the hour glass "Now let's begin."

Ja'far was first to attack-literally as he threw his weapons out at the cat which dodged it easily giving them all a reminder that this was no ordinary cat but a djinns.

'It's like I'm a genin all over again' Sakura thought recalling all those missions she had before when she had to help her team find and captures cats that ran away from their owners. Then there was also the time when she and her team had to get a cat's paw print which proved to be a really difficult mission considering that it wasn't a normal cat and that the mission nearly succeeded in getting them all killed.

It didn't take too long for everyone else to join in and it was complete chaos as everyone attempted to grab Minifor, desperate for the king's power and to achieve their freedom from this dungeon. For a little while Sakura observed them. Hina, Ja'far, Vittel, Mahad and Drakon were running around the treasure room chasing after the creature while Sinbad just seemed to be standing back and enjoying the show.

'Why isn't he going after it?' Sakura wondered, she remembered how he so strongly claimed that he wanted more power yet he was the only one not chasing after it.

Sinbad watched as the others ran around "That's so boisterous."

Sakura had rarely received much praise back when she was still a young ninja but one of the things she was revered for was her analytical ability. She was able to see through deception but at that time she had doubted herself and stuck to the rules. Like the time when she had taken the first test of the chunin exam; she didn't think there was a way past the rules when she assumed that the proctor didn't want them to cheat-that he wanted them to be honest; it was only after that she discovered she was right when she thought that the conditions were trying to force them to cheat.

She had made up for it though in her second attempt at the chunin exams when she got her team through the first test. She had learned to trust her instincts and right now they were telling her that there was more to this test than Valefor was making them believe. Minifor was fast; too fast for them to simply catch if chasing.

'Catch if chasing...' Sakura thought frowning 'You can't catch it if you chase it...'

Sakura looked over at Valefor who seemed to be enjoying the show; just like the others he wasn't paying much attention to Sinbad and Sakura who hadn't joined in on the action.

'So don't chase it.' Sakura thought

Sinbad was looking at her with a smirk on his face 'Did he figure it out?'

"Alright, I get it now." Sinbad said raising his finger to his lips telling Sakura not to inform the others of their sudden epiphany.

"Time to stop playing tag everyone," called Sinbad signalling everyone else "We only have one choice to survive. We need to work together."

Everyone stopped to look at Sinbad but it was looks of discontent and disbelief.

"Shut up" Ja'far hissed "Only one will become king!"

"Like hell we'll work together." Drakon said

"Is that what Valefor wants us to think?" asked Sinbad seriously "It's hard to capture it alone but if we work together we can defiantly do it."

"What do you suppose we do then?" asked Drakon

"Surround Minifor and then come at him at once." Sinbad explained "So whoever catches it wins fair and square you can't hate that person for it because everyone had a fair chance. Someone will signal when to pounce."

Drakon frowned "Who will give the signal? Whoever it is will have the advantage and I still don't trust this despite how simple it may be."

'Simple or not...' Sakura thought looking at Sinbad 'They believe him.'

"Then we'll give the sign." Sinbad said pointing to her and then to the top of a shelf that held many treasures. "We won't join the circle, that's fair seeing as we both already have djinns."

Sinbad had a calm smile but there was something about it that was almost charming to the eye; it made you feel as if he was the most trustworthy person you would ever meet.

"It's also more important that we leave here alive."

Sakura saw the look in Sinbad's eyes; he appeared to be completely honest to a point where she found it slightly terrifying that someone was able to deceive others so easily. She was well aware that he was playing them but if she had to decipher whether or not he was telling the truth by looking at him-she would never have known any more than the rest of them.

Despite the obvious doubts everyone was having about Sinbad they had agreed to it. Sakura and Sinbad stood on top watching everything from bellow. The plan was working so perfectly it was almost unreal.

"So it looks like we're the only ones in the running." Sinbad said grinning at her.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him-she was in a way deceiving the others as well but she knew that if she told them the real method to capturing Minifor they would all come to a standstill. So here she was now; watching the five closed in on Minifor. Sinbad instructing them where to move like the perfect puppet master.

"You know...I think one day you're going to be very devious," it was an honest opinion that she voice nothing more; a simple thought that she wouldn't think about again.

Little did she know it was another accurate observation.

"You think?" Sinbad asked unaffected as he looked down at the group. They were beginning to close any gaps for a possible escape.

"NOW" the two dungeon capturers shouted before everyone dived right in ready to take their chance.

While Sinbad and Sakura prepared to leap at theirs.

As predicted Minifor did escape-into the air jumping high-high enough for Sakura and Sinbad to be the only ones able to reach him-Sakura and Sinbad jumped at the same time though Sakura was more than confident at being able to pass Sinbad easily to attain the creature.

Or so she thought until he spoke.

"I'd give you permission,"

That was all he said, his tone was soft and soothing-like it had never been used to tell a lie and for only an instant she wavered in reaching forward.

And an instant was all it took for the scales of chance to tip and for Sinbad to grab Minifor as they leapt to the other side of the room.

Sinbad grinned wildly as he held out the cat "Caught you! I thought if there was nowhere to run on the ground then it'll go for the air."

Sakura fell to her knees in complete and utter shock as she tried to figure out how she let this happen...despite seeing through Sinbad's deception at the beginning she allowed herself to falter and fall for his promise.

Everyone else was feeling more or less the same about Sinbad at the moment and it was almost if they reached a consensus to deal with the young man.

"Sinbad..." Drakon trailed furiously

"You tricked us!" exclaimed Vittel

"You did an unforgivable thing!" exclaimed Hina

"I was right I should've killed you!" said Ja'far

Sinbad continued to smile as he put Minifor back down "Is that right? If I left it none of us would leave this dungeon and without all of your help we would never have been able to leave the dungeon."

"That's it." Sakura said with a deadly aura "I'm going to kill you!"

"I wasn't lying." Sinbad said before she could attempt her first punch; Sakura looked up at him in surprise "I saw it in your eyes...you did not really want this power. It's merely a consequence of what you're really after right?"

Sakura turned away from Sinbad; he was right about that of course but at the same time while she may not have wished for the power it still felt disappointing to have come all this way into the dungeon and to leave without its ultimate prize.

"It's not about who's right and who's wrong." Sinbad said "Someone must attain the king's power; that is all. Because the one who desire a djinn most of all is me!"

He looked pointedly at the rest of them "If you have this power what do you intend to do with it?" Create an army? Become strong? Capture countries? With this power I would create a country to chance this world!"

Something about that statement seemed to hit everyone hard, their resolves to be against Sinbad diminishing ever so slowly despite the fresh wound of betrayal he had given them.

"I know what I'm aiming for; a place where people work together in a world like this...That is why I will connect all the countries and create one country!"

"World?" asked Drakon in disbelief "The things you speak of are nothing but a dream!"

Sinbad continued "That is why I will do it. The first dungeon that was conquered and the boy who first conquered it will create a world that changes all countries. I will make it a reality, defiantly."

Sakura felt an odd sensation of excitement run through her, this boy's optimism and his way with words made him so believable, yet it drew her in. As if he had the power to make you do anything and follow him anywhere-even into the flames of hell.

"So you guys come with me and create a country!"

'I want to follow this man...' Sakura thought without really thinking

"So with friends...people that are good with words, people that are good with business, people good at getting information and people who want to travel and go on an adventure with me."

This was too much for Sakura-she actually felt conflicted. Her goal had been set in stone; she would do everything in her power to reach home yet Sinbad seemed like he was offering her something better than that.

'No.' Sakura thought shaking her head; there was nothing else for her. She was not part of this world and he could not make her feel like she belonged to it for she did not.

Looking down at everyone else it seemed that they were being convinced.

'If I didn't think this man was terrifying before, I do now.'

Sinbad landed on the ground in front of the group, feeling no reason to fear for his life.

"Do you really want us as friends?" asked Vittel

"Of course; I consider everyone here my friend."

Ja'far started laughing before walking forward "Fine let me join as well."

This really took Sakura by surprise; it wasn't only a few minutes ago that Ja'far wanted Sinbad dead. Now offering to become an ally? The way he could truly capture people's interest made her think he would be able to talk himself out of an execution sentence for the most heinous crimes.

Truly a dangerous man.

" _He truly is a miracle."_ Beleth whispered to the pinkette

But as Sinbad reached for Ja'far's hand the young assassin took the young man by surprise when he drew his weapon out.

"Idiot" Ja'far laughed "Like I would ever allow myself to be in your debt!"

Sinbad smiled "No, I will obtain you as well!"

Before much more could be said and done something began happening to Ja'far, Mahad and Vittel, their eyes and mouths started to ooze a kind of dark substance and then something dark began emerging from the three.

"What is this!?" Sakura asked in alarm; she watched as black butterfly like creature started to flutter together into a black orb.

"Don't do such things in my dungeon!" said Valefor. "At this rate the depravity will spread."

Sakura wasn't sure what was happening but she became very alert as she watched the orb twist and turn before taking shape into a giant hideous monster.

"What is that?" Sakura murmured

"It's; dark magic that turns people into demons with black rukh." Valefor explained "

Drakon attempted to use his dungeon tool to destroy it but Sinbad stepped in front of him "What are you doing?"

"I'll save my comrades at all costs." Sinbad said

"What are you saying you fool?" yelled Drakon "If we don't do something the demon will-

"Shut up" Sinbad ordered "They said they'll build the world together with me."

"You think this monster is still human?" Drakon asked

Sakura couldn't believe it herself at this point the better option would've been to end it.

"They're my comrades." Sinbad said with a determination strongly held in his eyes. 0

Sakura decided to speak sighing in defeat "Guess we don't have much choice then but to follow you my king."

Sinbad grinned at her before telling her to duck as the monster came to attack them. The first blow sent Sinbad flying into a wall.

"Sinbad use you djinns power!" Drakon called "We either kill them or get killed."

Valefor decided to speak at that moment "No, there is another way."

"There is?" Sakura asked hopefully

"The monster is probably keeping the humans alive connected to its core and using their magoi as a base to move around. The core is most likely in his chest. You could save those three."

Looking up at the snarling beast with horns it seemed that they were going to attempt to stop him by freeing the three trapped inside.

Which was proving rather difficult as Hina and Drakon went to attack only to find that they weren't any match for the demon.

Sinbad then cut off the demons arm and was about to use his djinn weapon to cut his friends free from its chest when the hand behind went to grab him.

"Move" Sakura said pushing Sinbad out of the way only his sword was grabbed however and then Falan appeared before them in the monsters hand.

"Without this you're powerless now correct?" Falan said holding up the sword

Sakura narrowed her eyes "I'm not. Come forth Beleth!"

Pointing her hand in the direction of Falan; a large blast of fire shot through right at the dark magician however the demon stepped in front of it blocking the attack easily. Sakura was still a novice when it came to using magoi despite that she had taken to learning quickly but that didn't mean she had mastered it either.

"Dammit," though despite that Sakura did not she managed to wound the demon though it regenerated right away. It was obvious they were going to have to find another method to destroy it.

"Falan," called Drakon "So it was you behind all of this."

He went to attack but he magician moved out of his reach "Yes, my real body is in Parthevia right now, in fact I'm working as a direct magician under Lieutenant General Barbarossa-sama."

Drakon gasped "My brother?"

'Thing's just keep on happening,' Sakura thought frowning 'At this rate I'm going to lose track.'

"Captain Dragul, my bad I forgot you were promoted by two ranks," Falan said though her voice was bitter

Drakon did not seem to know what she was talking about so he asked her and Falan did reply but the voice that came from her was no longer that of a woman's-bitter or not, it was rough and deep.

"It means you're already considered someone who died in action, Junior!"

"That voice!" gasped Drakon "Is it you big brother?"

Drakon brother continued to talk through Falan "Failed to capture the first dungeon, and still not able to capture the guy who cleared it. It's a disgrace that can't be pardoned in the noble Drakon Family."

After finishing his speech to Drakon completing it with die like a grunt Falan now spoke "Both you and them are nothing but sacrificial pawns. You have nowhere to return to."

The demon went to attack Drakon who was on his knees scorned and making no attempt to escape. Luckily before the large clawed hand could crush him Hina stepped in and saved him by moving them both out of the way.

Sakura couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the young man, after that statement of having nowhere to return to she could relate at the moment.

"Drakon," Sinbad called rushing over to him while Hina went to handle the demon.

Sakura decided to give him a hand with it preparing to fire yet another attack but something went wrong. When she used Beleth the flames were much weaker, she could not only see that but she could feel it as well.

'Why...'

Falan laughed at her failed attempt to subdue the demon "You aren't able to attack to kill because you are scared of killing those three."

Sakura realised how true that actually was, in that moment when she looked at the demon she had lost any resolve of destroying it because she knew who was in there. Not once as a ninja had she ever taken a life before, she had trained to save them which was ironic considering her line of work but that's how it was. She had never taken a human life before.

And it looked like she wasn't willing to either.

Sinbad picked up the spear that Hina had dropped "Don't make me repeat myself."

Sakura turned to look at him, his eyes filled with determination and strength-far greater than she has ever seen in anyone-almost anyone. That determination was uncannily similar to a certain knuckle headed ninja back home.

"I am not going to abandon anyone here."

Sinbad charged at the monster but with is djinn removed he did not have the necessary power to defeat it.

"Sinbad!" exclaimed Sakura rushing over to him, she had become distracted by the injured boy that she failed to realise that the demon had diverted its attention to her and in turn she was smashed against the wall of the dungeon, as she fell rocks crumbled around her.

'My king...'

Sakura groaned as she hit the ground with a thud, her vision blurred not that she didn't expect it to after that. That demon was powerful without a doubt, something powered by darkness and hate, as she looked up Sakura could see it, she could see the darkness surrounding the creature, she could see the dark birds fluttering around it.

" _Look and listen carefully," he said "Those who are not attached to this world will be able to see things more clearly and perhaps see what can't be seen."_

Her thoughts in her dazed state had her drawn back to what Yunan had said to her. She had no clue what he meant still. In the short time she had been here this world had offered her nothing but continuous confusion and riddles. It had given her nothing but troubles yet despite that she was not at a point where she was willing to give up. There was still plenty of hope left in her and she wasn't going to surrender.

'I will not disgrace myself like that' she thought as she stood up again.

Turning her attention back to what would be for the time being her reality, Sakura saw that Hina had gotten himself out of the demons grip and was now fighting along with Sinbad and Drakon. There was a change in them, both Drakon and Hina's spirits had appeared to be crushed before but now they were fighting with the intention of living. Sinbad and Drakon were on top of the beast, Hina was in the front, his spear shimmering a bright light and his eyes no longer the same light blue but a deep magenta; he drew back his spear and threw it straight through the chest of the creature that let out a horrific roar of pain. Sakura watched as the darkness poured out of the beast as the three assassins were freed.

Then she switched her sights to the magician who appeared furious for their actions.

"How dare you!" she screeched

Without a thought, care or single concern Sakura sped towards the women before she could see her. Coming up from behind Sakura drew back her fist, pumped with chakra before slamming it into Falan; the strength was enough to shatter every bone in the human body on impact as she held nothing back but in Falan's case-who had admitted that what they were seeing was not in fact her actual body vanished with the black birds leaving behind what appeared to be a small nesting doll and Sinbad's djinn weapon.

Picking up Baal Sakura turned to face the young man "I believe this belongs to you."

Sinbad seemed to be starring at her from surprise before he snapped out of his daze and took the sword "Yeah..."

Ja'far, Mahad and Vittel had appeared as well from the darkness unconscious momentarily but breathing. The pinkette stepped forward quickly and checked to make sure that there weren't any abnormalities however her eyes taht seemed to have become so sharp in that instant no longer seemed to be in effect and she was seeing things normally again. The golden and black birds vanished as well.

"Are you alright?" Sinbad asked them placing his hand on Vittel's shoulder

"Yeah. It felt as if some evil spirit flew into my body," he told them

'Evil spirit'

Ja'far opened his eyes as he saw Sakura he said something unexpected "Mother?"

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked

Ja'far seemed slightly dazed still but he nodded as indication making the pinkette smile in relief. She was about to embrace the boy when a discomforting feeling at the close proximity made her stop. In an instant she knew something was not right.

Right after Ja'far's body lifted up into the air, his eyes flashed blank and in the centre of his chest a dark light began emitting; drawing in darkness.

"That black thing again...?" Drakon stepped back in horror

"Chief!" Vittel called in distress

"Impossible" Sinbad gasped looking up; everyone else had as well and they were equally horrified at the sight of the demon that had been destroyed not only minutes ago resurrecting before their eyes. It was like being inside a never ending nightmare where a content ending was impossible and all they wanted to do was wake up from an uneasy rest.

Falan's voice ran along the room again "This time, I created it by using just one body as its core for the source of power. Besides it looks like this boy had already started falling into depravity. The best material you could ask for as a core."

Falling into Depravity; another term that Sakura placed in the back of her mind to discover for she felt that it was something important, not necessarily pleasant but important nonetheless.

"This time this child himself will become the core. In other words defeating this demon means killing this child! Now what will you do?"

Sakura was trembling as she searched her thoughts for answers; if there was one thing she had learned it was that situations that only seemed to offer one option was usually a deception. Merely appealing for the easy way; to give into the inevitable but after all this time she knew that there would always be another way, a better way. You just had to create it yourself. There was no such thing as defying fate but there was such a thing as shaping your own.

'Naruto...you taught me that.' Sakura looked down at Ja'far's form 'I will not let this boy die!'

Sinbad walked up in front of her on the other side of Ja'far; when he looked down Sakura noticed something.

'He's seeing something the rest can't,'

Sakura reached forward to the source of the creation of darkness, Sinbad did the same as well but unlike him Sakura did not know what she was actually doing.

"Don't!" Valefor called "A human body can't handle the strain!"

It was far too late to pull back as the two attached themselves to the dark core.

There was no turning back.

* * *

"Don't let go." Sinbad told her as they began descending into the unknown. For reassurance Sakura squeezed his hand as they continue to fall.

Then sudden flashed in their own minds began to show them images; they saw assassins, Vittel and Mahad; obscured faces of a man and a women and then a spearhead blade with small hands holding it-decorated in blood.

"Did you see that?" Sakura asked

"Yes..." Sinbad whispered softly

Then the djinn metal vessels on top of Sakura's head and in Sinbad's hand shone and spoke.

"These are this child's memories." Sinbad's djinn Baal explained

"We are entering his subconscious; be cautious my king." Beleth said

"Talk to him," Baal told them "You must save this child at all costs!"

"If he falls into depravity he will be trapped forever in everlasting darkness." Beleth stated

Everlasting darkness, this world may be all new but the situations were too familiar for Sakura to believe.

"I have to save him." Sakura said

"Don't worry we will." Sinbad promised although he couldn't help but feel that Sakura wasn't just referring to Ja'far.

* * *

"It hurts..."

A young boy with white hair trailed across a vast area of nothing, his feet leaving behind footprints of red as he sobbed softly. His heart filled with despair and agony.

"I can't take it anymore" he stopped walking and just stood in the world filled with nothing but blankness.

"Mother...father where are you?" he cried before letting out a cry "Where are you!?"

Another figure appeared in front of the young boy, a much angrier and darker version of himself looking down at him with disgusted eyes.

"Stop whining already! Stop crying you wimp!" he ordered the crying boy

"I-I can't take this anymore..." Ja'far sobbed "I want to go home."

The dark figure grabbed him and shook him "Home? Just where is that place? Quit being a fucking cry-baby! Didn't we...kill our mother and father with these hands!? We're someone who was born into the organisation. We had to kill them one day. It was the only choice we had...in order to survive. We had no choice."

The dark figure replicate of Ja'far moved back as his harsh voice grew soft and vulnerable "We had no choice...In the end didn't we manage to survive?"

From a distance not too far away Sakura and Sinbad watched the two Ja'far's sob.

Sakura was always quick to cry or so she's been told by many and as far as she knew it was true but that was because she had seen too much tragedy and sorrow to not. She believed she had two options when it came to situations like this. It was either cry or close off her heart.

And she was incapable of the latter.

Sakura and Sinbad walked towards the two.

"So that's how you've lived a painful life," observed Sinbad "while deceiving and contradicting yourself."

The darker Ja'far glared up at the two with hatred "Shut up. Just what can you understand?"

"You're right." Sinbad said "We can't understand it."

Sakura stepped forward in front of the child "But, I do understand what it means to lose someone you love and feel like you're the cause of it. I always know what it feels like to feel as if you don't have a place in this world."

There was a glimmer of someone in Sinbad's eyes after Sakura said that. He just noticed now that she was crying as well.

"But...that doesn't mean you should give up on living." Sakura said her voice shaking "It doesn't mean that you won't be happy again."

Sinbad and Sakura each took one Ja'far and hugged them.

"If you have no place to go," Sinbad said "I can give you one. I'll become your reason to live. So stop deceiving yourself already. I mean you've already crossed your path with me."

Sinbad's words not only had an effect on Ja'far but Sakura as well. There was an odd feeling in her chest but she decided to leave it for now.

On the outside where Sakura and Sinbad's bodies were physical the two had partially djinn equip with their arms transformed. Lightning and fire fell on them as they destroyed the darkness.

"Don't you die on me Ja'far!" exclaimed Sinbad

"Wake up!" Sakura called

Ja'far opened his eyes as the fire and lighting vanished; the three stood.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sinbad

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked worried

A single tear fell from Ja'far's eye as he nodded "Yeah."

Everyone rushed to them and they all ended up laughing-not for anything funny but for the relief of having lived.

Valefor was looking at them in amazement and pride for he could not believe that there were humans able to save someone from falling into depravity. Valefor transformed from his feline state into something much larger and much more powerful looking when he spoke his voice had warped as well.

"This is the treasure room, a place where it will be decided who will form a contract with the djinn Valefor. Now, shall we decide who will become king?"

Hina pushed Sinbad in front of him "Go...Sinbad!"

Sinbad looked surprised at Hina "Hina?"

"Everyone here recognises you as a king." Hina told him as he observed the others

Sakura grinned and shrugged her shoulders "Fair's fair and besides you did say you'd give me permission."

Everyone got down on one knee and pulled their hands together before saying "Now forms a contract with the djinn. Our king."

Beleth seemed hesitant to see his master bowing to another djinn holder _"My king..."_

'It's alright.' Sakura told him

Thus Sinbad proceeded to form a contract with the djinn and the dungeon Valefor was cleared.

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes she was back in the outside world, the dungeon had vanished as expected and everyone was surrounded by piles of treasure. Sakura sighed in relief and flopped to the back on the ground.

"Oh I missed the sky," she said in relief 'If I keep this up I'm going to die before I finish this mirror.'

"Glad to see you came back." A strong and familiar voice said to them

Looking up Sakura and the others found themselves surrounded by the Imuchakk with the chief looking at them.

After grabbing all of the treasure from the dungeon everyone including Ja'far, Mahad and Vittel and Sakura were invited back to the village for Hina's coming of age ceremony at last. After everything Hina had been through in the dungeon at this point it was more than deserved. Drakon took off but not before having an exchange of words with Sinbad. When Sinbad came back he seemed quite content.

"You seem happy." Sakura observed

Sinbad held up his new djinn vessel which was a necklace "How can I not be, I've gotten another djinn and new comrades."

There was barely time for them to get properly acquainted yet Sinbad had managed to charm and draw in all of these people-some who were trying to kill him not long ago. Sakura had to admit she felt drawn to this strange boy as well. He was interesting to say the least.

" _My king if you did not had met this boy before me you may have ended up as his household vessel."_

'Yet another term of this world I have to learn.' Sakura thought rolling her eyes

" _Household vessels; there are people who are attracted to the King's vessel chosen by a djinn and the warriors who share the magoi of the king and the blessings of that djinn."_

Well that was something Sakura would want to avoid, not only becoming someone's household vessel but also avoiding having her own.

"Let's head back." Sinbad said to everyone.

* * *

When night fell the coming of age ceremony for Hina began, everyone watched from the young Imuchakk stand in front of his father as he was presented with his warrior name.

"You who has now become a proud warrior of Imuchakk; let us give you that symbol and your scared name. Come here."

Hina stepped forward and took the spear that his father held out for him "Rampaging unicorn's fang and horn are the proof that you're a Warrior. The name of that warrior is Hinahoho."

Everyone cheered as Hina now Hinahoho was given his name; the chief said it meant pure as the sea. Celebrations commenced once again and as usual there was dancing, food and drinking.

'Tsunade's favourite pass time," Sakura thought smiling softly to herself. 'I think it's time to leave soon.'

' _As you wish my king,'_

There were just a few loose ends for her to tie up before that, after searching around for a few minutes she finally spotted Ja'far and Sinbad.

'And they are drinking...does this world not know of age restriction to anything?'

Smiling as wide as she could Sakura went over to them. Sinbad was quick to hold a cup to her face "So are you finally going to have some?"

"That's still a no." Sakura said giggling softly

"Come on." Sinbad said

Vittel tapped her shoulder and offered her a cup "This isn't alcohol."

Smiling Sakura took the cup before turning down to Ja'far, she saw a boy with light skin and freckles across his cheeks.

"Is that you Ja'far?" Sakura asked though her tone said she already knew.

Ja'far seemed a little nervous to be speaking to her. "Mmm..."

"Let's have a toast!" exclaimed Sinbad

There was so much fun, laughter and happiness all around that Sakura's resolve wavered.

'Perhaps I can wait until tomorrow.' Sakura thought as she joined in the celebrations. It wasn't like she'd experience Maharagan ever again.

* * *

Sakura walked further to the outskirts of the village, a cloak wrapped around her form to keep her warm but still she shivered. It was exceptionally late, celebrations had died down by now and most people had gone to their homes to rest.

' _Is it time to return my king?" asked Beleth_

"Yes..." Sakura murmured "I have to keep going; I just have to ask Sinbad-

"Ask me what?"

Sinbad appeared a little ways behind Sakura and walked until he was standing beside her. They both stared out at the vast ocean before them.

"To see your new djinn," Sakura pointed to the necklace around his neck

Without a word Sinbad removed it and held it out to her before smiling; Sakura then took her mirror and raised it up to the djinn metal vessel. The bright light appeared and then it vanished leaving Sakura with yet another part of the mirrors shard in place. There was a sense of comfort Sakura got knowing that she was getting even closer to completing the mirror.

'If I keep up this pace I'll be home in no time,'

"Do you ever plan on telling me what that little mirror is all about and what it has to do with the djinns?"

Sakura shook her head "Sorry pal not going to happen."

Snapping his fingers Sinbad sighed "Oh well; they'll be plenty of time to figure that out while we're on our journey?"

This caught Sakura's attention in an instant "I'm sorry say what now?"

"Well, it doesn't really seem like you have anywhere else to go...and you did acknowledge me as your king."

Sakura gaped at him and started swinging her arms around "So did Drakon but you didn't make him join-

"He has something he needs to do," Sinbad told her crossing his arms over his chest "There's clearly a lot of lose ends he has to take care of and in the future who knows...I'm sure I'll see him again."

Sakura scoffed "Well thanks for the offer but no thanks, I have my own goal to accomplish."

"It has something to do with that mirror and the djinns doesn't it?"

The kunoichi visibly stiffened at the dead on observation "That's none of your business."

"Where are you going to go now?" Sinbad asked

"I don't know," she answered truthfully though hesitantly turning her head up to the sky "All I have to do is keep searching for more djinns, conquer dungeons and find more people with djinns."

Sinbad raised his eyebrows at her "That is a lot of dangerous work for a women-

"You're sexist you know that?" Sakura cut it

Ignoring the comment he continued "All I am saying is that by conquering dungeons you're only going to gain more power and you said it yourself you're not really after the djinns power so what's the point? I'm not entirely sure how that mirror is connected to the djinns but I'm curious."

"The djinns power is not my main goal yes I said that but it isn't a bad bonus prize either," Sakura said shrugging her shoulders "I'd rather use my own power but at the same time I may need to rely on a djinns. This world...is a cruel place and I'm not entirely prepared for what it might throw at me that was made clear during our time in the dungeon."

Sinbad was silent for little less than a minute before he decided to speak again "The world may be a cruel place but everyone has a place in it."

"Not me. That's why I can't go with you." Sakura stated softly though she knew Sinbad could hear her clearly. "Would you tell me again?"

"Huh?" Sinbad asked looking at her

"Why do you want all of this power?" Sakura asked

Sinbad didn't hesitate to answer "That's easy, I want to establish a country that can change the world."

"You know...even though that seem like an impossible dream, the way you say it and that look in your eyes makes me believe it can really happen."

"It will." Sinbad stated firmly

Sakura let out a small huff of breath "They say that kids tend to have more optimistic dreams that hardly ever touch reality but then there are those with more...'motivation' who will do _anything_ to achieve their dreams and make it reality."

Images of a certain blonde and raven haired boy crossed her mind and her heart gave a painful clench.

"Well...it's the same for me." Sinbad said

"So you're willing to go to _any_ lengths to achieve your dream?" Sakura asked

"Of course!" Sinbad said "That's why; I promise that you can believe in me! Sakura"

Sinbad took her hand in his gently "If you don't have a place in the world then I will create one for you; so come with me."

Sakura smiled gently at the purple haired boy "Sinbad..."

"Sakura..."

"This is precisely the reason why I won't come with you." She said in a deadpan voice before releasing her hand from his hold and grasping the mirror dangling around her neck before she spoke.

" _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

 _Find those who have been scattered_

 _To retrieve that which has been shattered_

 _Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon_

 _Will help you mend what has been broken._

 _Permission from a king is required_

 _To achieve what is desired_

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece"_

There was a bright beam of light and Sakura closed her eyes waiting to be taken to where she would find the next shard.

'Goodbye Sinbad...'

When Sakura opened her eyes she expected a different change in scenery, less snow more sun but she was met with the same climate conditions as when she was back in Imuchakk.

'Mm, perhaps this is another part of the world?'

"Um Sakura, what the heck was that?"

Sakura yelped and turned to her side to see Sinbad standing there, his eyes wide as he waited for an explanation that he wasn't going to get. Turning to the mirror around her neck Sakura felt panic swell up inside of her.

"W-Why? Why didn't it work?" Sakura asked herself looking around "Why am I still here?"

"What the heck was that light?" Sinbad asked her

"I-I-I CAN'T-I-I-

"Oi Sakura calm down!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"


	5. To be a merchant-To be a king

**Well everyone here is once again another chapter, I spent the entire day writing just so I could post this so I hope you like it.**

* * *

The next morning when Sakura woke up she found out that Sinbad had gone with Hinahoho to the capital of Imuchakk. Apparently Hinahoho was going to ask for the chief Rametoto for his daughters hand in marriage and Sinbad was there because...

"Wait why did Sinbad go there?" Sakura asked Ja'far, Mahad and Vittel

"He said he wanted to form a contract with the chief to allow him to trade Imuchakk's products." Ja'far told her "He is going to need funds first in order to build his country."

Sakura raised an eyebrow; so he really was serious about everything he said back there. A fourteen year old was establishing his very own trading company...

'Yeah that's going to go down without a hitch.' She thought sarcastically and then smiled 'If anyone was able to pull that off it'd be him.'

She shook her head; she was doing it again, thinking about him when she should be thinking about getting that next mirror shard.

' _There is no rush right my king?'_

'Speak for yourself.'

"Oh by the way Sakura-san are you almost ready to leave?" aske Vittel politely, it was hard to believe that it was barely a few hours ago they were all trying to kill one another.

"Yes," Sakura said with a soft sigh, all of her belongings and the treasure she earned after conquering Beleth didn't travel with her unfortunately but she was sure that inn keeper was going to be very happy when he finds that bag of gold in one of the rooms.

"Is something wrong?" Ja'far asked

She automatically shook her head keeping a smile on her face. After discovering that for whatever reason the mirror would not teleport her out of Imuchakk as Sakura had hoped she didn't have any other choice but to join Sinbad (much to her hesitance) on his voyage, at least until she could return to achieve her goal.

The three ex-assassins left the house to make sure everything was in order for their journey leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts.

Only for about a minute before someone entered again.

Sakura's attention shifted to the door as Sinbad came strolling in through it with a big grin on his face as if he had just accomplished something amazing...as if conquering a dungeon and getting his enemies to become his allies and loyal subordinates in a single day wasn't enough for the young man.

"I take it the meeting went well?" Sakura asked curiously

Sinbad nodded "An official contract monopolising Imuchakk's trade routes has been established."

"Congratulations; it seems that everything's gone your way; you conquered the dungeon-after manipulating everyone including your ally to doing the dirty work and for earning all of their un-doubtful loyalty with only a few words therefore gaining subordinates."

Rubbing the back of his head Sinbad gave a nervous laugh "Well it's not like I was lying about them being my comrades and all of you did accept me as the king."

"That's true," Sakura said before standing up and walking towards Sinbad "You were accepted as the king but now comes the hard part..."

Sinbad looked at her baffled.

"Those people are all going to depend on you now to lead them; they have put their trust in you so in the future I suggest you don't do anything underhanded like that again-at least not with them." Sakura warned

"You're right." Sinbad said; that determined look back on his face making Sakura's heart skip a beat. "I will have to make sure I don't fall victim to the darkness in this world when I want to change it."

Satisfied with the answer Sakura placed her hand on Sinbad's shoulder "You already showed how far you're willing to go for those you call your comrades so I don't think there's much to worry about for now."

* * *

A cool breeze brushed over her skin as Sakura stared out onto nothing but the blue skies and sea, there was a calm atmosphere surrounding her as she allowed her form to relax knowing that she wasn't in any immediate danger; a soft voice spoke behind her but not to her.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm a trader Ja'far. I'd be glad if you put our goods into your shop-

And then the peace ended

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

Turning around the pinkette saw the young previous assassin known as Ja'far sitting at a table with his new friend and master Sinbad while in front of the two was an extremely tall women with long blue hair in two plats and yellowish eyes-this was Rurumu the women that Hinahoho had asked to marry. She was now currently giving lessons to Sinbad and Ja'far.

"Like hell I can continue this you old hag!" Ja'far screamed

Sakura winced knowing full well what was to come and as expected she was right when she saw Ja'far with his face flat on the table having been hit with one of Rurumu's; Rurumu chop-having felt the end of that chop herself Sakura couldn't help but feel sorry for Ja'far.

Ever since the group had left Imuchakk-group being Ja'far, Mahad, Vittel, Sinbad, Sakura, Hinahoho and Rurumu on a voyage to sail across to new lands to establish more trading units for Sinbad's company-Sindria trade but things had gotten off to a bit of a rocky start with Rurumu determined to educate Sinbad and Ja'far who turned out to be both illiterate as well as lacking in other fields of education and etiquette. Sakura herself had offered to join in on the lessons since she was a novice to this world she figured it wouldn't hurt to educate herself a bit. Rurumu said that she wouldn't be included in the etiquette lessons with the boys but that she would be taught how to behave like a proper lady and acquire the proper skills of one while she was on this voyage-therefore things like cooking, sewing ect.

" _How do you expect to capture a man's heart if you cannot prepare a decent meal?"_

Okay so she had like zero cooking experience and she wasn't very good at laundry and the only thing she was good at stitching up was...people with life threatening flesh wounds but it wasn't her fault entirely!

As a kunoichi polishing your skills with a cooking knife wasn't considered as important as polishing your skills with shuriken; it was more crucial to be able to throw needles at vital points in your enemies body than to use them for stitching up a man's torn robes. Having started her career as a ninja as the weakest member of her team, her time and energy had been devoted to nothing besides training to get stronger.

They hadn't been at sea for very long but already Ja'far had been making suggestions to jump overboard and swim the rest of the way to their destination.

"Don't worry Ja'far." Sakura said with a reassuring smile, leaning over she began explaining the current problem on the paper for him.

Sakura had taken to the general education portion of the daily lessons easily enough, since back in the village you would graduate school at twelve or younger and it also helped that Sakura herself was extremely bright.

"See it's not that hard."

Ja'far and Sinbad gave her a deadpan look "Easy for you to say..."

Breaks for the boys came when it was nearing lunch time while Sakura was dragged by Rurumu to prepare meals and when Rurumu did etiquette lessons with Sakura.

'If I had known this would've been my every day I wouldn't have come along.'

Not that there was much choice.

Sakura had made several attempts to use the looking glass throughout the journey repeating the chant word for word over and over, she thought that all she had to do was say the chant and she would be transported to the place where the next shard would be but for some reason it wasn't working like before. She had asked Beleth about it but he claims he wasn't too sure himself about how the looking glass worked entirely.

'I should've considered swimming'

"Sakura sit up straight! You're posture is terrible!"

"Don't scowl; you'll get wrinkles!" Rurumu warned "It'll be bad with your forehead."

"No, this is not a proper stitch-do it again!"

"Clean the chicken Sakura; don't butcher it!"

"You shouldn't use so many spices at once! You're trying to give the meat flavour not drown it in seasoning."

* * *

"Everyone it's time for lunch!" Rurumu called holding two dishes in her hands while Sakura held the other dishes; looking completely exhausted.

"I'm too tired to eat." Sakura said wanting to just flop down on the deck but knew that Rurumu would smack her back up.

'And I thought Tsunade was a difficult teacher.'

Sinbad; Ja'far and Sakura were seated together with Rurumu watching them and making sure that the three remembered their table manners. Most of the worry vanished whenever they ate.

'DELICOUS'

They all thought as they put the first morsel in their mouths.

* * *

The ship did have a few cabins but the male members decided it was better to sleep under the stars, of course Rurumu and Hinahoho had their own cabin and Sakura was also given her own cabin but sometimes on nicer nights she would also sleep outside-at a respectable distance however one night...

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, the sound of snoring then filled her ears along with something else...sniffling?

Glancing on the other side of the boat where the guys were sleeping; she spotted a certain young white haired boy crying in his sleep, there were tears streaming down his face as he curled up in a ball, the blankets had fallen off of him; even though it wasn't a cold night he was shaking.

"M-Mother-f-f-f-f-father p-pl-please..."

In that moment Sakura felt her heart sink as she looked at the young boy; to think that he had been a leader of a clan of assassins before and he looked like nothing more than an innocent boy with a heavy weight on his shoulders that he will have to carry for the rest of his life.

She couldn't watch it anymore.

"Ja'far..." Sakura called softly before gently shaking him "Ja'far wake up."

Ja'far's eyes shot open, he seemed to be on high alert as he quickly reached for his weapon but Sakura grabbed his wrists before he could-all those habits picked up from being an assassin for so many years wouldn't vanish in the blink of an eye.

"S-Sakura?" Ja'far asked panting softly looking at the pinkette surprised.

"Shh, wouldn't want to wake the others right?"

Ja'far's expression softened before he nodded as Sakura let go of his wrists "What are you-

"Let's have a little talk." Sakura said before pulling him in which case Ja'far couldn't put up a lot of resistance, not against Sakura's strength.

* * *

The two starred out at the wide ocean enjoying the tranquillity that came with the night as well as being this far out at sea and with the rest of the ships members asleep it was even better.

"So tell me," Sakura started with a hint of caution in her voice "Are you having nightmares of the past?"  
Ja'far gasped and turned to her "Huh?"

"I heard you crying in your sleep," Sakura told him "You were calling out to your parents."

Ja'far diverted his eyes back out to sea "It's...not really..."

"I understand that this must be a difficult transition for you having been born in a clan of assassins and having to do those things just to survive."

The boy continued to look out at the vast sea "It's just that...all I've ever known is killing to survive but now that I don't have that anymore, I'm starting to think back to all those times I-when-I-

Ja'far's voice sounded so broken to her, Sakura reached for him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"You've been putting on a brave face for far too long Ja'far." Sakura murmured sweetly "But you're not alone anymore, I told you before didn't I? Just because all of those things happened in the past doesn't mean you won't be happy ever again. If you can't let it go it's not worth holding onto. I'm not saying that you should forget your parents but I'm not saying that you should punish yourself for what you have done for the rest of your life either. I'm sure they wouldn't want that for you."

Tears started streaming down his face "I-I keep having those dreams about them. About that night and what I did to them."

"I've seen it," Sakura told him "It must've been so hard for you to endure, but now you're finally able to start differently because there are people who are willing to put the past behind them and move forward with you, don't forget that."

Ja'far wiped his tears and looked over at Sakura "What about you?"

"Huh?" now the pink haired ninja was confused

"Are you going to move forward with us to?" Ja'far asked "Stay with us?"

Sakura gave a sad smile "My case isn't as simple as that, I have a lot of unfinished business I need to take care of thanks to the decisions I made in the past, I can't put it behind me because I've dragged so many people into it and have made them make me so many difficult promises. Unlike the rest of you I don't deserve to move forward when I've pulled so many people back."

Her words were bitter in her mouth but they felt true to her, she couldn't just drop her old life and suddenly decide to start over in a new world while everyone else back in her world picked up after her. It wouldn't be right of her to be that selfish and no matter how tempting it might be at times to simply surrender and stop going against the flow of things she wasn't a part of this world, she would never truly belong.

The pinkette held Ja'far tighter "Don't worry about me though, so should we get back to bed?"

Ja'far's eyes cast down in despair at the thought of going back to sleep, while it was tempting him and he was extremely tired he didn't want the memories of his tainted past to haunt him for the rest of the night.

"I'd rather never sleep again..."

Ja'far hadn't intended to say it out loud but the words left his mouth before he realised it. Sakura tugged on his arm.

"Then let's just lie together okay?"

"HUH?" Ja'far asked jumping back slightly with shock written all over his face while Sakura continued to offer him a sincere smile.

Despite Ja'far's protests Sakura got him to join her on the sleeping tarp, both wrapped up in blankets looking up at the stars while Sakura didn't seem bothered in the slightest, Ja'far was practically stiff as a board as if he was set in bed with a poisonous snake that would attack if disturbed. Sakura reached out and pulled Ja'far closer to her till their foreheads were touching as she softly whispered to him.

"I'll chase off all those bad dreams so you won't have to cry anymore."

Her voice was so tender and kind.

'Just like a mother's'

That was Ja'far's final thoughts as he closed his eyes and drifted into a calm, peaceful, nightmare free sleep.

* * *

And that had been the regular routine for the past couple of weeks since they had been on board; Ja'far would sleep with Sakura though since he was still very young there was no quarrel about it from anyone-other than Sinbad who protested saying it wasn't 'fair' that only he was allowed to sleep in the same bed with her.

" _What the hell is this?" Sinbad asked starring at the scene before him, he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating from being half asleep but nope, he still saw Sakura asleep and wrapped up snugly in her arms was Ja'far!_

" _What the hell!" Sinbad whisper-screamed, he had just gotten up to go to the bathroom only to notice that Ja'far's usual spot was empty and then he sees this!  
_

 _Stomping over Sinbad went over immediately to wake up Ja'far and question him however he was stopped when emerald green eyes snapped open to look at him._

" _What the hell are you doing?" Sakura asked in a raspy tone from sleep_

" _I could ask you the same thing, why is Ja'far sleeping with you?" Sinbad whispered_

 _With a soft sigh Sakura adjusted Ja'far so she could sit up "He's been having nightmares for the past couple of nights so he's been sleeping with me."_

" _That doesn't make any sense!" Sinbad said "How long has this been going on?"_

" _Few days, he was embarrassed to tell everyone so after you all turn in he-_

" _Sneaks to your side to sleep?" Sinbad finished for her still looking a little angry_

 _The pinkette nodded her head "He's becoming a child again it seems and children need comfort."_

 _Sinbad pulled a face and sat down crossing his arms seeming deep in thought "So...what are the chances you'll let me squeeze in on your other-_

" _No way," Sakura deadpanned cutting him off "You are not sleeping here with me."_

" _How come he gets to sleep with you but when I offered you-?_

" _Because with Ja'far I don't have to worry whether or not I'm going to be violated in my sleep!"_

" _He's an ex-assassin and you still feel safer!?"_

" _Yes actually!"_

That had been the argument but Sinbad didn't dare try and push his luck any further given Sakura's strength and ability to break every bone in the human body just as quickly as she could fix it. She also added that she could neuter a man with her eyes closed

"Of course I never tried that before, but I think you'd be the first to find out if I really could Sinbad."

After that the topic was dropped all together.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Sakura asked in a slightly whining tone as she leaned over the boat, a month at sea Sakura had finally gotten sick of seeing nothing but the sea.

"Sakura do not lean over the boat like that!" Rurumu instructed

"Yes!" Sinbad yelled; he was standing way up on top of the sail "We're here!"

Sakura gasped and quickly rushed and climbed up to stand beside Sinbad; they were getting closer to a harbour and the first sight of land since Imuchakk much to Sakura's relief. She never realised how much you could appreciate seeing land of being at sea for so long.

"Sakura be careful; you're going to fall." Sinbad warned reaching towards her only to have Sakura smack his hand away. She crossed her arms over her chest balancing perfectly on the thin wooden hold of the sail.

"I'm alright so keep your hands to yourself." Sakura said with a slight warning in her tone

Sinbad started to look around with so much excitement in his eyes "So this is Reim Empire Naporlia"

As they came to the port Sakura noticed the strange buildings as far as the eye could see, it was clearly a very huge place with building designs she wasn't too familiar with. There were people gathering at the port as their ship got closer in obviously curious about the strange ship that had just arrived.

"This is amazing!" Sinbad exclaimed

Sakura nodded "I hate to agree with you but right now I really can't argue."

From Rurumu's lessons what Sakura and the others had learned was that Reim Empire was a nation that held the most territory in the world, and its city Naporlia was the second most populated economic city after its capital Remano.

Sinbad looked over as they finally docked with an unusual calm expression on his face "So we have finally reached Reim Empire."

With a smile he turned back to everyone "Alright time to open for business!"

* * *

Sakura helped to unload and pack out all of the cargo they had brought with them from Imuchakk; there was a variety of goods all ranging from material to jewlry; trinkets; fruit; plants and more. Sakura assumed that since it was the first time Sinbad was trading he would be nervous but he was completely ecstatic as he called out to advertise.

"Come now! Buy from us! Freshly arrived from Imuchakk!"

"It's your only time to buy it!" Ja'far called

There was soon a crowd standing in front of the stall with curiosity and excitement; there were many questions asked including if the products were genuine however Ja'far was quick to reassure them by showing off the certificate for proof. Meanwhile Sinbad was baiting in a lot of female customers with his charm.

Sinbad took a women's hand and gazed at her "I promise you it will be worth your money, one-san."

"I-I'll buy this!" the girl stuttered and soon a whole hoard of girls joined in

Sakura sighed as she watched him "Figures, is there any girl he won't seduce to get what he wants?"

Rurumu gave a small laugh "Oh my, I thought you'd be a little more jealous than that."

Now it was Sakura's turn to laugh "Me jealous because of Sinbad? That is not going to happen."

The Imuchakk women gave her a curious expression "From the way the two of you behave with one another I assumed you were together; that was my mistake I suppose."

It may have been possible that Rurumu and the others have seen Sinbad hitting on her while they were on their month long cruse. She certainly hoped the others didn't have the same assumption about their relationship. Sakura had to admit that she and Sinbad had become close; they were finally able to have that conversation about how they conquered their dungeons though Sakura believed Sinbad's story was much more interesting. Sinbad told her that Drakon had gone into Baal's dungeon as well and tried to conquer it but it was Sinbad who earned the kings power in the end. Though while both of them told their stories neither Sinbad or Sakura started their stories with what happened _before_ they entered the dungeon.

Sakura had picked it up but to ensure that she wasn't asked about it she never questioned Sinbad either.

They were close but not that close yet.

'But to think it looked like we were actually...'

Sakura shook her head "No way; I'm actually already in love with someone else."

At the mention of love Sakura's heart gave a painful clench that made her feel even more homesick now.

'Sasuke,'

A dark eyed, raven haired boy popped into her mind and Sakura suddenly felt like her throat became dry.

'I have to get home soon.'

Just then two men, dressed in gold coloured armour came walking up over to the stall and they did not look like they were interested in buying anything.  
"You there! Who gave you permission to do business here?"

Sinbad quickly responded "Ah, sorry. I didn't know a permit was needed for selling in a street stall. I will go through the necessary procedures immediately. Just where should I go to for that?"

One of the men raised an eyebrow at Sinbad "God is it your first time trading in Reim?"

"In Reim, commercial transactions are all under the administration and regulation of Reim merchant guild. Only the first approved by them are allowed to trade here."

"If you understand then leave immediately!"

All of their customers were also told to leave at once; things were not looking good for the group now that they discovered they were not going to be able to trade in Reim.

"Well this is a shame, after we came all this way to." Sakura said

Rurumu nodded "Yes, it'll be quite the loss."

"Maybe it's because we learned from old documents..." muttered Ja'far

Then another voice cut into the mix "Who is the shop keeper?"

They saw a man covered by a blue cloak, Sinbad walked over to him "That would be me. What is it?"

The mysterious figure gestured to the store "How about selling me everything here?"

Everyone was surprised to hear that offer especially Sinbad "But the officials said it's illegal."

"Certainly, dealing when you're not a member of the association is restricted here. However it'll be alright for me to buy your goods as I am affiliated with the association."

"I see..."

"You didn't come all the way to Reim just to suffer a loss right? It'd be bad if you went back without selling anything."

Sakura didn't know much about business and trading but she felt that there was something off about this very generous offer-not to mention she had seen an odd flutter coming from this mysterious trader but she didn't argue when Sinbad agreed, it was his decision after all and it was his business as well. He was given a contract and not soon after all the goods from the stall was collected and then they were handed a huge bag of silver coins; it was a lot in fact it looked like it was more than what all the goods were actually worth.

"This much?" asked Ja'far

"Let's have a good dealing in the future."

Sakura couldn't stop herself from frowning as she watched the man leave with all of the products; she was still trying to convince herself that she was being paranoid about this. The fact that everything did appear legit anyway and it would've been bad for them to return without making a profit.

Sakura shook her head 'Why am I thinking about this so much? Even if it does go bad it's not my problem right?'

' _That is correct my king however do remember that we are currently travelling with them until you are able to continue your journey.'_

Beleth was right about that-even though Sakura wanted to deny it. She didn't have anywhere else to go and was dependant on Sinbad and everyone else for the time being.

Sakura walked up to Sinbad and put her hand on his shoulder "You look spaced."

He shook his head "It's nothing, at least I hope so."

* * *

That night was meant to call for celebration on a successful first trade however when the group had gone into town they found something very disturbing; all of the goods that they had sold was being in someone else's shop nearly 10 times the normal rate.

"We've been cheated!" exclaimed Hinahoho

"He must be a trader who was making his money re-selling at a higher rate." Sinbad said

"That's smarts." Sakura said "You were easy prey for someone like him; unable to do business legally."

"How mortifying." Rurumu said

"Sakura did you notice?" asked Ja'far

The pinkette shrugged "I thought it was suspicious that someone would want to buy all of the goods, I didn't think it was going to be for their own use but I didn't think he'd resell them either."

"Why didn't you say anything?" asked Ja'far

"But it's not like you would've had much choice." Sakura added "Even if you noticed it sooner, the least you could've done is refuse and then would've had nothing but a loss. It's a lose-lose situation either way but at least with one you made some money."

Sinbad nodded "She's right; sadly we can't make a large profit here."

Everyone appeared to now have grim expressions on their faces; Sakura couldn't say she was surprised but Sinbad on the other hand had a huge smile on his face.

"What's with the long faces?" he asked them "Isn't it more interesting this way?"

Everyone looked at Sinbad like he had lost it; his eyes were gleaming in excitement as if he had made a great discovery.

Ja'far was quick to reprimand him "What are you talking about? We got tricked here!"

Sinbad continued to grin placing his hands on his hips "Ja'far you don't get it do you? It's because we've been tricked."

Sakura's sweat dropped "You're a couple sandwiches shy of a picnic Sinbad."

"What are you talking about Sakura? Don't you think traders are amazing? Don't you think they are the most determined people in the world? The world moves because of money and money is moved by merchants. They always stand at the forefront of the world, and ascertain the movement of the world and cunningly calculate it. It won't be an exaggeration to say that these traders move the world. We're competing against powerful opponents like this! There's no way it's not interesting."

"How optimistic of you..." Sakura trailed though a smile plastered on her face; everyone else's spirits seemed to rise as well.

"I don't get you way of thinking." Hinahoho said

"With a master like you..." Ja'far said smiling "We have no choice but to follow."

* * *

Though their visit was short; Sinbad decided to send everyone back to Imuchakk to stock up again on stock while he and Sakura stayed behind in Reim. Sinbad was going to attempt to obtain permission to trade there while everyone was away. Initially she was told to go with but Sakura had argued that she wasn't going all the way back to Imuchakk because it was like taking two steps back in her journey-or an entire month back.

Sinbad grinned "What? Afraid you'll get lonely without me?"

Sakura scoffed "Keep your delusions to yourself. I have my own mission and going back will delay me. I'd rather stick around here."

Hinahoho looked down at the two with a worried look "Are you sure about this Sinbad?"

"Yes," Sinbad replied "You guys go back to Imuchakk to stock new merchandise. I will see to the matter of association and firm until then."

"Okay then; we'll leave it to you."

Sakura and Sinbad watched as the ship left the dock, their comrades sailing away leaving the two to fend for themselves.

"I have much to learn..." Sinbad suddenly said "About this world, this country and the people living in it. Also about commerce and trade,"

Sakura stared at him with a near blank face "You've got some time, be sure not to waste it."

He nodded "I won't; I can't be stopped here because I will become king!"

There was a moment that passed between the two, Sakura saw that same determined look on Sinbad's face again but it died down when a loud growl was heard and they realised it was his stomach.

"For now; I'd worry about dinner." Sakura pointed holding back a chuckle

* * *

Sakura sighed when she realised Sinbad had handed all of the money to buy more stock so they were literally stranded in Naporlia with no money. Sinbad only had three copper coins in his pocket and of course Sakura had lost all of her treasure when she was first transported to Imuchakk.

"We're gonna have to find a way to survive with just this much." Sinbad said with a sheepish grin; he held up the coin but it slipped out his hand and then rolled; their eyes trailed after it until it landed at the foot of a familiar figure that picked it up and looked over at the two youngsters.

"What it's yours isn't it?" the cloaked man asked holding it out to them

Sinbad grinned at him "If it's alright with you, how about a dinner?"

* * *

Sakura couldn't believe it when they actually ran into the merchant that had ripped off Sinbad; but she was even more surprised when Sinbad asked him for dinner and then without so much as a complaint he got what he asked for. So now the three were all sitting together at an inn eating. The man had taken his hood off to reveal a man with long blonde hair and a goatee.

'Something about this is seriously amiss, that or this world it weirder than I thought.'

"My name is Harun," he introduced "I am a trader of Balbadd."

"Balbadd?" Sinbad asked in surprise "It's a trading nation ranked next to Reim am I right?"

"If you're a trader then visit that place at least once." Harun said "It's quite a lively country."

Sinbad nodded "It'll be my pleasure; I'll be in your care."

Sakura decided to remain silent for as much as she could to avoid conversation; she had been forced to study trade with Sinbad and Ja'far but that didn't meant that she was actually one of them.

'I'm not sure what I am to them.'

Harun then turned to Sakura "Young miss are you also a trader?"

Sakura jumped a little at the question "Um...I'm-

Sinbad grabbed Sakura's hand that was resting on the table in his "She's my companion that's been staying with me for a while."

Sakura resisted the urge to glare at Sinbad and crush his hand but it was resting on top of hers so she couldn't really hold it.

'Clever bastard,'

"I see, even though you're both so young..."

Sakura felt her face turn red, she did not like the insinuation that was clear in this man's voice "A-Anyway; is there a reason why you happen to be indulging us?"

The question caused Harun's face to turn firm "So you do know; that I bought your goods and sold them at a higher rate."

Sinbad nodded "Yes but that's because we lack knowledge and experience. In other words, I lost against you in a battle as a fellow trader. There's nothing to hold against you for it."

Sakura narrowed her eyes looking at Harun, she was sensing something very odd about him but it was something she couldn't place. She had gotten distinct flutters all from the different people that she had encountered, but some were stronger than others.

"Although," Sakura said feeling Sinbad squeeze her hand lightly "I still get the feeling that there is something you haven't told us."

"So you approached me to know what it was huh?" asked Harun

"Yes." Sinbad replied

Haruno held a smile on his face as he spoke "That composed attitude...you're rather suited for this profession. Then let me tell you. Imuchakk's goods are something that came here for the first time. Even having that ace in your hand, not only did you lose the most appropriate time to use it, but also let someone fix its price and value for you. So this matter is far much of a loss than you think it is."

Sinbad gasped softly, it was as if he had also noted something about this so called trader that was telling him otherwise.

"However," Sakura said "If we were to somehow get permission to sell our goods here in the time that it takes to restock then we'll be able to sell our goods at that same high rate or higher. Eventually the stock that's here is going to run out and the demand for it will grow."

"That is very true young lady," agreed Harun "But that will only happen **if** you get permission to legally sell your products. So mind telling me this, how were you able to coax the famous hero Rametoto for the privilege to trade with Imuchakk?"

"A near cost of our lives," was Sakura's reply; it was true but at the same time it was vague which seemed to satisfy Sinbad who offering a side grin at her which she returned.

"Oh really?" asked Harun appearing very intrigued "I was ever since you harboured that ship to Reim; I also tried to sell my goods to them many times but, they didn't even bother to give me a chance. So how does a foreigner, what's more a youngster get chosen over me?"

Sinbad recalled Rurumu's lessons about trading; she had told them that manner and speech were very important in inter-personal negations.

'But what's most important...'

"Ignorant I may be," Sinbad said "But I can't just reveal my trade secrets to you like that."

'Is smile'

Sakura noted the smile on Sinbad's face; one that didn't appear to hold any ulterior motives; genuine but she was also there for Rurumu's lessons and she knew what he was doing.

'No matter how much hostility someone holds, they cannot attack carelessly in front of a smile'

Sinbad was already gifted coaxing people to his side in a near quickly; that was apparent but now that he had been educated further on how to negotiate and behave he'd be a force to be reckoned with.

" _Quite a dangerous power wouldn't you say my king?" asked Beleth_

'Indeed' Sakura responded

" _By the way my king how long do you both intend to hold hands?"_

Sakura hadn't even noticed until now, so she discretely removed her hand and Sinbad let her much to her relief.

"It's important that I learn more about this country." Sinbad told Harun "If there's a price for that, then I don't mind revealing any secrets to you. Right, as friends who share their knowledge with each other,"

Harun first appeared at a loss for words, stumped for only a moment before he slammed his fist softly on the table "You want me as your friend? A friend with someone who's not even half my age? Looks like I've taken a fool."

"Age shouldn't matter if what they have to offer is worth the relationship." Sakura stated calmly as she rested her hand on her chin. "And from your questions earlier it seems we have a lot to offer."

Harun grinned "Is that so? Well then since your companion is so adamant with defending you I shall hear what you have to say."

"In that case." Sinbad held out his hand, the eight star appeared as he placed it over the mug of wine. Harun looked at it in shock.

"It's frozen."

"This is the power of Valefor; djinn of ice" Sinbad began "A power bestowed only to those who have conquered a dungeon."

Harun looked shock "You're one of those conquerors?!"

"We both are." Sinbad said gesturing to Sakura as well

Sinbad told the story that Sakura had heard a few times about how he conquered his first dungeon, how he had stormed in on his own while an entire army from his country was also after the dungeon's power however they all perished at the hands of the dragons that were in the dungeon except for one (who Sakura discovered was Drakon) and after defeating him he had earned his first djinn, Ball. Then he told him about the second dungeon; how he came to Imuchakk, met everyone including Sakura who had first demonstrated her powers and how they went into the dungeon.

"The story you told was very interesting." Harun said "Fighting against a king dragon on your own...treasure room of ancient ruin. This is much more interesting than those poets at the imperial court."

That caught Sakura's attention "Poets at Imperial court?"

"Adventuring and travel all around the world." Harun trailed as if he had drifted off to a wonderful memory "It's like a tale I could only hear in my dreams. I couldn't help but admire it. But I still can't comprehend it. Just how do you plan on using that kind of power?"

Sinbad looked at him with a serious expression; his smile fallen "It's to...change the world!"

"Change?"

"Parthevia where I was born is currently oppressing its citizens with injustice and leading them to a path of self-destruction. So I thought of saving those citizens. However, there's a limit to what an individual can do. Thus I came to a conclusion that a power much greater was needed. And to do that, first I have to make a country that could move the world. I'll become a king."

Harun looked at Sinbad with an expression that Sakura deciphered as disbelief "King? That seems rather childish"

Sakura now spoke "Children dream bigger than the world let's them but those who do make their dreams a reality are the ones who have surpassed the world."

"And you think he" Harun said gesturing to Sinbad "Is capable of this?"

"I do." Sakura nodded

"With someone in power like that, you always have to be a definite being. If you end up thinking about your citizens, let alone the world..."

Harun stood up from his seat "What you have both told me is very interesting. However you're still green. In the first place to become part of the association, you need to have a recommendation from a member and 1000 gold coins as your admission fee. Definitely not the amount a commoner could earn easily. However if your will is as strong as steel and still insist on taking a path of trading in order to build create a country, then prove it to me. I'll leave to Remano tomorrow for the trade, and be back in a month. If you really want me to believe you then earn that amount in a month with your power. Depending on your result I might even consider recommending you to the association."

Sakura watched as Harun paid and then left the two teens; she then noted the look in Sinbad's face. It held a strong determination one that was terrifying as she has seen before in him. Now he was getting serious.

* * *

"Just who is that guy?" Sinbad asked as he lied on the bed of the inn room; after Harun left a man came up to Sinbad and Sakura telling them to head to the room on the first floor. Apparently they would be staying there since it was already paid for them.

"I have no clue," Sakura answered as she lied down on her bed (she was extremely grateful to find there were two beds in the magnificent room). "You don't have much of a choice again huh?"

"Yeah," Sinbad said before turning to his side to look at her "Thank you."

Sakura looked at him confused "For what?"

"You really helped me back there with convincing him to hear me out and not just shrug me off."

"I'm sure you would've done just as well on your own." Sakura responded turning her back to him to stare out at the window that was near her bed. The room was very luxurious, decorated with colourful materials that hung above the beds, plush carpets, and walls with intricate designs. Harun must've obviously been a very wealthy trader to be able to afford to host them here for a month.

"You think?"

Sakura nodded "I hate to admit it believe me but there's something about you that makes you stand out from everyone else in this world, I get this odd feeling from you that I don't get from the others."

Sinbad gave her a curious expression "I do huh? Still you were a real help defending me; you'd make a good business partner."

"Don't be ridiculous." Sakura snapped closing her eyes "You've got your other comrades for that, I'm only here temporarily but; I have a goal of my own to complete I'm just a little stuck right now...however for the time being I'll stay here with you."

Sinbad sighed "Well anyway; I'm not sure how we're going to reach 1000 gold coins. Becoming guards will only earn around 3 coins a day and even if we did other chores we still wouldn't get enough."

"You sure seem to know your stuff."

"I use to do those kinds of jobs before." Sinbad said sighing "He wasn't kidding when he said it's an amount no commoner could earn."

Sakura sat up and let out a frustrated sigh "Don't you get it? You're not a commoner remember? You are going to become a king."

"What do you mean?"

"Start, thinking like one!"

With that Sakura turned back around and planted her head back on the pillow closing her eyes. She couldn't spoon feed him to answer to his problems, he was going to have to figure something out for himself on how to achieve his own goal; while she thought about how she was going to attain her own. She didn't know how they were going to reach that amount of coins but Sinbad was going to have to think up a way on his own because this was his dream; she was just along for the ride.

* * *

The next morning Sakura was woken up on a count of being shaken like a rag doll a couple of times; she nearly punched Sinbad before she realised it was him.  
"What the hell are you doing?"

"I've got it!" Sinbad said with a big grin on his face

"Huh?"

"I know how we're going to get those gold coins."

Sakura slumped back trying to fall asleep again "Oh really? Well good for you."

"We're going to use our djinns."

That got Sakura up fast "SAY WHAT?"

* * *

 **There you have it, just in case there's some confusion I'm basing this story off both the manga and the current anime so I'll be combining some of the dialogue. The manga is a lot more detailed though so the anime makes it easier to right the speech...Anyway till next time!**

 **DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW**


	6. The story of conquerors

**Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews; it really inspired me to update quickly so I hope you enjoy.**

It's been exactly a month since Harun left the two youngsters behind in Naporlia and now he was returning. In all honesty he did not believe that those two would make it to their desired amount of gold coins. While they were intriguing, he believed he only indulged their childish chatter and claims on a whim. Once they got a face of the harsh reality of this world they would be crushed by their own dreams. It was a cruel notion yes but it was better that they face reality now than in the distant future while still putting in all this wasted effort.

'Children are just that, children.'

Just then one of his men came up across the carriage "There's a crowd gathering, I wonder if there's some kind of event."

Curious; Harun exited the carriage to take a look at what was causing all of the commotion.

"This is the tale of a young boy."

Harun looked up along with the rest of the crowd to see Sinbad standing on top of the roof of a large building.

"A dungeon; is a mysterious place that tens of thousands of men challenged but no one returned except for one. And what appeared as he crossed the sacred gate was an ancient metropolis that got destroyed ages ago. While making his way defeating countless baby dragons. The young boy didn't stop once. And what stood in front of him was a giant dragon who breathed lightning. Still the young boy didn't waver, right before that breath could reach him, that blade struck his body."

Sinbad raised his sword and unleashed Baal's power letting lightning appear wowing the crowd "That's right, that boy was none other than...Sinbad!"

As the crowd cheered flames of black began surrounding Sinbad but burned nothing as he continued to speak.

"The young boy ventured on and came across Imuchakk, a land covered in ice and snow. There he met her-another one that has overcome the trials of a deadly dungeon. Obstacles that varied from his own dungeon; fighting against the elements; a huge demonic bird that breathed black fire-no weapons at hand except for the land in which she had been trapped in. Despite all odds, she defeated the monster and gained the power of her own djinn...Sakura!"

The pinkette emerged from the flames beside Sinbad making the crowd cheer even louder "But it was far from over as the two encountered one another and would embark on another journey with more danger than ever!"

The crowd went wild as Sinbad and Sakura intertwined their hands and held them high unleashing the power of their djinns at the same time into the air.

"Amazing, those are real conquerors!"

"Are those flames and lightning proof of that spirit?"

"So the legend about the dungeon was really true!"

"It's amazing, even children like that..."

"They're incredible!"

Sinbad and Sakura held up a bag as people began throwing coins at them and cheering. In the last month they had been doing these performances, putting their stories together to gather crowds of people; everyday to listen to their stories and everyone loved it and the Reim authorities couldn't stop or charge them for their actions because they sold merchandise not registered in the merchant's guild; stories. At first Sakura had been reluctant to use her djinn's power for something like this but when she saw the expression on Sinbad's face so hopeful and just...she couldn't deny him this request (even though it wasn't really one) and she had come to enjoy telling the tales. Both never started their stories with how they ended up in the dungeons though but no one questioned due to the adrenaline rush they got when seeing the display of their djinn power.

Sakura tapped Sinbad and pointed over to Harun "Look who's back."

Sinbad grinned and rushed down with Sakura to greet him.

"Harun-dono you're back!"

"A month as you said." Sakura stated smiling as a couple of children gathered around the two teens.

Harun walked over to them "I'm impressed, you gathered an audience with no less than a theatrical performance in an amphitheatre."

Sinbad nodded "It's all thanks to you!"

"Certainly, this is something only dungeon conquerors like you can do."

Sakura shook her head "Sinbad may have thought of it but it was because of you that he had, you told us that our stories were more interesting than the poets."

Sinbad had a small blush on his face "That's true, I was able to realise stories of adventure can intrigue anyone and get them excited...unfortunately we haven't been able to reach 1000 coins yet also today is the promise day...Please give us a little more time, we will reach your requirements."

"Please sir," Sakura said strongly "He will reach it; Sinbad has the determination to achieve his goal and I will help him so please just wait a little longer!"

Harun looked at the two in awe; he saw a certain glimmer in their eyes 'I was the one who thought it's impossible and gave up..."

Harun turned to a man dressed in white robes that had been walking with him and made a gesture with his hand, the man bowed and left for a bit only to return with a huge sack that he dumped in Sinbad's arms.

Sakura and Sinbad were starring wide eyed and gaping.

"This is a fee for listening to your performance; I want you to take it! I'll assist you in your dream as your friend."

Sakura grinned; a warm feeling of relief filled her as she looked at Sinbad. She was unusually glad that his path to his dreams were becoming cleared; finally overcoming a difficult obstacle.

Harun smiled and crossed his arms "You have a ton of things you need to do, you don't have time to be stranded here right?"

Sinbad gaped at him before he turned over to Sakura with a serious expression "Harun-dono, I mean sensei forgive me but I cannot accept all of this."

Sakura looked at Sinbad like he was crazy "Sinbad what are you-

"Take half."

"Huh?!"

Looking at her with a solemn expression Sinbad spoke "You might say that I would be able to do this on my own but I couldn't have done this without you. Even though I have my own dreams; it's not right for me to delay you from yours. You don't want to be stranded here either right? So; I want to help you reach your goal as well Sakura."

The pinkette felt her heart give a loud thump in her chest as she looked at Sinbad; his golden eyes starring right through into her soul. She didn't know why but she breathing into every word he said. She looked at the bag of gold coins that he opened to her and smiled before closing the bag back up and pushing it towards him.

"What are you saying? Those who abandon their mission are scum but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. I refuse to be worse than scum. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan on staying forever but right now I feel like I should stay here."

Sinbad looked at her in shock "But-

"This is my decision" Sakura cut him off "Besides; if you really can't make it without me right now I'd be too worried about leaving on your own. God knows what kind of trouble you'll cause."

Holding out her hand she looked at Sinbad "Call me partner for now."

Grinning he took her hand and in that instant something in the world stirred and it could be felt all over.

Sakura turned back to Harun "By the way; I've been meaning to ask...who are you?"

Just then two men carrying spears dressed up in white robes came running up to them "There you are."

"It'd be troublesome if you leave suddenly like that."

Harun sighed

"This person here is the 22nd king of Balbadd. Our king Rashid."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaa!?"

* * *

The day ended peacefully enough after the commotion caused from their story telling, 'Harun' returning and giving them everything they needed for their fee and then discovering that he was the king of Balbadd and the highlight of Sakura's day-agreeing to stay with Sinbad for a while longer. She wasn't sure how long as her goal was still clear to her, there was no real place for her in this world but right now she would stay by Sinbad's side; it wouldn't be forever but still the thought was a comfort for her. Knowing that she wasn't all alone though she might've given Sinbad the impression she would stay so he wasn't alone

'Doesn't really matter,' she thought

' _Is this really wise my king?' asked Beleth_

'Well it's not like a have much choice; I still don't know what to do about finding the rest of the shards,'

The door opened and Sinbad walked in with a tray in hand "Hey, you're missing dinner."

Sakura looked at the two plates Sinbad carried in "Sorry for the trouble; I'm just resting up before tomorrow."

Harun AKA Rashid; said he wanted to discuss something with the two of them about the future of Sindria trading company. For the entire month they had been there, Sakura and Sinbad's day to day performances varied in different locations at different times but it was basically all day even for a ninja it was tiring.

"Thanks." Sakura muttered when Sinbad handed her a plate.

"It's hard to believe we managed to come this far in only a month." Sinbad said, he took a place at the foot of Sakura's bed and started eating.

"And we have one more before everyone else returns." Sakura pointed out knowing that it took a month to travel to Imuchakk and another back. "We have to establish permission from the firm by then."

Sinbad nodded "Yeah, though I don't think we have to worry too much about that. By the way I wanted to ask; even though you have your own goal to reach what's making you stay with me?"

Sakura looked over at Sinbad, noting the mischievous glint in his eye when he asked that question "To be honest; you kinda remind me of someone."

"An old lover?"

Pulling a face she shook her head "No way! He's a really great friend, anyway he has this dream of becoming the leader of our village one day...no matter how many people ridiculed him or called him a foolish good for nothing dreamer he persists even to this day but because of me..." Sakura dropped her spoon and clenched a fist "Because of me; he has been delayed. I made him make me a stupid promise that had caused him so much pain and yet; he still moves forward; determined to full fill that promise to me."

"Sounds like he's either a really great friend or in love with you," stated Sinbad

Sakura sighed "I'm tired of holding people back; I've done it before but I'm not about to do it to anyone else and that includes you so there."

"So I remind you of this friend because of my determination?"

"Well that and you're optimistic stupidity."

Sinbad nearly fell off the bed at her comment but then started laughing "You know this is the first time that you told me something this personal."

Sakura realise that he was right about that and looked down; she was beginning to open up to him just a bit.

"So that's why you want to get home right?" Sinbad asked

Sakura nodded "It is; I'm just a little stumped right now. I have nowhere to go but I won't stop until I get back because if I don't...it'll feel like I abandoned them."

"I know how that feel's." Sinbad said looking out the window "When I was young, I heard stories about the world beyond my tiny village, it was fascinating for me and something I yearned to see for myself but I couldn't..."

"Why was that?"

With that Sinbad and Sakura spent nearly the entire night talking; of their past; Sinbad told Sakura about the village he came from in Parthevia and how when he was younger there was a war and men were forced to join the army but his father Badr refused until he was forced; he never came back leaving Sinbad and Elsa-Sinbad's mother alone in the village. He told her his mother became very sickly so Sinbad would do whatever he could to get her medicine and took on different jobs like guarding ship but then one day he met a strange traveller who told him about dungeons.

"Yunan was a rather odd guy-

"Wait." Sakura stopped him "Did you say Yunan? It wouldn't happen to be a guy in a green outfit with long blonde hair-kinda looks feminine?"

Sinbad gasped "So you met him to!?"

"Yeah! I ran into him in the last town I was in before I came to Imuchakk!"

"Wow, the worlds not as big as I thought."

"Oh it's big." Sakura said "I just think fate likes to play tricks...so anyway go on with your story."

Sinbad the continued to tell her about how wanted to go to the dungeon but was hesitant because he didn't want to leave his mother alone, though it was Elsa who had told Sinbad to go and gave him the sword that once belonged to his father that Baal currently possessed.

"The times in the dungeon...though it was only hours for me; weeks had gone by and by the time I returned it was too late to save her."

Sakura's heart gave a pained tug "Oh Sinbad, I'm so sorry."

Sinbad looked down with sorrow-filled eyes "With my mother gone, I no longer had anything left to tie me to my country so I left determined to change the world."

"It takes a lot of courage to leave everything you've ever known behind." Sakura said "I'm sure that your parents would be very proud of you."

Sinbad nodded before looking up at Sakura, a cheerful smile back on his face "So now it's your turn; tell me your story!"

Sakura was hesitant at first; she didn't want to say something that would hint at her originating from another world; that would simply be too much. So she gave him the next best thing; a peak at the most pain filled moment of her life. She told him about Sasuke and Naruto-saying they were both friends of hers who she use to do jobs with along with their sensei (telling him that was a kind of system in the village she came from). She told him how advanced her friends were compared to her and how they would always pick up the slack on account of her; both had lived difficult lives compared to her own which was filled with loving family and friends. She told him about how her one friend-Sasuke, left the village and she was unable to stop him.

"I made Naruto promise me to bring him back; we haven't stopped searching for him since then."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." Sinbad said sincerely

"Yeah, me too,"

"Even after all those things that Sasuke guy put you all through do you really still love him?"

Sakura nodded "Yes."

"He's one lucky guy then."

"No, not really."

* * *

Sinbad and Sakura were beaming as they looked at the scroll Sinbad was holding; it had taken a while but Sinbad was able to enter the union without any problems after paying the tuition fee and getting the recommendation.

"Thanks a lot sensei." Sinbad said "With this I can do business in Naporlia. I hope that the products from Imuchakk come as soon as possible."

"It won't be too long." Sakura said positively "They're only a few weeks away."

Rashid took a sip of his drink before smiling "Sinbad, Sakura, you should go into acting."

"Eh?"

"With all due respect sensei we were only doing obtain the money for your recommendation."

Sakura nodded in agreement "That's right, we were only doing it so that we could create a foundation for Sindria trading company."

Rashid looked passively at them "You're both quite mature for you age but as merchants you are still immature in the field. Although you were able to register your company you don't have the store you need right? Plus you need stored goods in a warehouse, carts for transport and horses. Also you need ads to make your store known. The hard part really begins here."

"I see..."

"Wow." Sakura breathed "Still a long way to go."

"As you know in Reim there are several entertainment services for the population. Coliseum fights, gambling, bathhouses and theatres. Among them sword fights and the theatre is what attracts the population's attention."

"Mmm; maybe I should've done those coliseum fights."

"No." Rashid interjected "In those fights, you sometimes have to fight against animals and monsters. Right now the only asset you have is your bodies. You do not need to run into danger to earn money."

"Okay." Sinbad nodded

"The stories about the two of you and your adventures are somewhat entertaining. Hearing it from the person who had the experience themselves and displaying the power of djinn's. If you repeat it in the theatre you can probably attract a lot of attention. I think this is the best way to make your business go well." Rashid then turned to look only at Sakura "The two of you make a good pair when telling your stories together; two dungeon conquerors coming together to form a team-it makes for an interesting story on its own and would pull in more publicity. What do you think?"

"I agree with that notion."

"You sure?" Sinbad asked Sakura

Sakura nodded again "Let's do it."

Sinbad and Sakura leapt from their seats "Let's go enlist right now!"

Sakura nodded "Right."

* * *

It wasn't too long before the first performance happened in Napolia's Amphitheatre; the entire place was packed with people; excitement in the air and a lot of doubt for those in Reim that haven't heard the stories. Doubt was expected though considering that the advertisement for the performance mentioned Two dungeon Conquerors revealing their stories.

"I wonder if this will be real?"

"The programme looks like it was put together in a rush."

"There are many scammers after all; it may be a hoax"

"If it's something silly I'll just leave."

Just then, snow began to fall down on the audience which was odd because Reim was not meant to get any-least not this time of year.

"Welcome!" two voices called, clearly male and female "To the great adventure theatre!"

Everyone looked up on the top of the wall of the theatre where two figures stood; Sakura and Sinbad. Sinbad drew his sword and unleashed a bolt of lightning into the air startling the audience before dazzling them as they watched the snow fall like small crystals thanks to the lightning being reflected by the snow.

Sakura then spoke "Tonight, we'll tell the story...

"Of two young dungeon conquerors; whose paths have come to cross...

Sakura unleashed Beleth's dark flames using them to move with complete control and morph into the shape of an giant bird before flying over the heads of the audience and lighting the torches.

"We hope that you'll enjoy it; until the very end!"

That night, Sinbad and Sakura's first stage performance was a huge success. The audience was very excited as they heard about the tales of the dungeons and witness the power of djinns. Everyone there said there had never been a play nor choral symphony of hundreds that could have matched this performance. The dungeon conquerors reputation spread beyond Naporlia and to the borders of Reim and days later people from many places began to come and line up outside the theatre. Just like that; they stopped being strangers in this city.

* * *

Sakura sighed happily she leaned back in her seat; after the theatre performance they were taken to Rashid's carriage. Sakura was sitting opposite Sinbad and the king of Balbadd.

"Putting on a performance is actually quite taxing."

"It was all a success though" Rashid pointed out

Sinbad smiled "It's all thanks to sensei who recommended we do it."

Then his expression turned pouty "However, it is unfortunate that many people were not able to attend. I will fix that somehow."

Sakura leaned on her hand and looked out of the carriage window "Well I'm sure people would enjoy reading your stories as much as they do watching it."

"She's right." Rashid said "It would be wise to start an autobiography and would promote your business further."

Sinbad nodded before turning to look out of the window himself as road away from a coliseum, it was the first time either of them had actually seen it before.

* * *

A few weeks later; Hinahoho, Rurumu, Vittel, Mahad and Ja'far returned with more merchandise hoping that while they were away Sinbad had somehow managed to solve the problem about trading in Reim. Though they were not expecting someone to meet them at the docks and then take them to a coliseum.

It what was even more shocking was seeing the entire coliseum packed with cheering people.

But the real surprise was what was inside the ring of the coliseum. Standing back to back was Sakura and Sinbad as they spoke, their voice echoed around the coliseum for everyone to hear; including their friends.

"Overcoming strong waves...Sinbad arrived at Imuchakk, where he met the son of the village chief Hinahoho and the mysterious pink haired girl that appeared out of nowhere within the snow, Sakura."

"The three entered the labyrinth Valefor." Sakura began

"And three people stealthily followed." Sinbad said "A group of mysterious assassins."

Sinbad use his djinn Valefor the freeze the ground beneath Sakura and his feet; the crowd cheered at the display of magic.

The story continued from both point of views, going back and forth between Sakura and Sinbad and how they had gone through the Valefor's dungeon; what challengers they had to face and the evil they had to overcome in order to save their comrades.

"The magic of darkness"

When Sinbad said that Sakura unleashed Beleth's flames to spread across the coliseum floor; something began to form from within the flames; a giant monster made of flames.

"From within the darkness a person turned into a magical beast."

"The djinn Valefor told them; in order to release this person; they would have to use the power of their djinns to free him from the darkness." Sakura called out

Sinbad began attacking the giant dark flamed beast Sakura had created; using the same dialogue he had used back in the dungeon before; leaping across the pillars while Sakura manipulated the creature.

"Though it seemed hopeless, they never stopped trying to reach the heart of the person captured and taken in by the monster!"

Sinbad raised his sword into the air; Baal's magic shone brightly "Do you hear me? I will not let my friends die! Therefore I will not let you die!"

* * *

At the end of the performance people were cheering loudly begging for more; Sakura and Sinbad left the centre of the ring to head up to where they saw Vittel and Mahad standing at the top watching them in awe. Ja'far however had disappeared.

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Vittel as he saw the two walking up to them

Sakura grinned "You think? I kinda feel embarrassed whenever we perform and this was such a huge audience too."

"You were amazing!"

Sinbad started looking around "Hey where's everyone else?"

"Hinahoho and Rurumu-san stayed behind to unload the new stock and Ja'far was here a minute ago with Kikiriku-

"Kikiri-who?" Sakura asked confused

Mahad and Vittel glanced at each other before nodding "Rurumu gave birth a little ago while we were at sea."

"EEEHHH?" Sakura and Sinbad yelled in surprise

"Th-S-She, w-wh-w-ww-w-a-and-k-kid-b-baby?-huh

"Sinbad!" Sakura smacked the purple headed boy over his head "Use actual words...boy I feel sorry for the girl that's gonna have your child."

"Sorry." Sinbad said rubbing his head "So where are they?"

"I don't know." Vittel said looking around worriedly

"It's not safe to wander around this place," Sakura said sounding like a scolding mother "There are coliseum monsters around here."

Sinbad looked at his sword "You know...I felt something odd while we were performing, it felt as if Baal's power was being used but not by me."

* * *

Without dwelling on it too much they all took off together to try and find Ja'far; it wasn't too long before they found him passed out in the cage of a coliseum monster-which was also knocked out. The sound of crying was what lead them there in the first place. Sakura and Sinbad saw a child, as big as Ja'far but obviously not the same age; just by looking at his blue hair and yellowish-gold eyes they could tell that the child was Imuchakk; obviously Kikiriku.

"Ja'far!" Sakura exclaimed running through the large bars of the cage and grabbing both Ja'far and the baby before taking them out.

"What happened to him?" asked Mahad

"Looks like he had a fight with the coliseum monster," Sakura concluded looking over his wounds hugging the boy to her chest "At least his alive,"

Sinbad looked up at Mahad and Vittel "You two take the baby back to his parents; we'll take care of Ja'far."

Nodding they left with the Imuchakk baby leaving Sakura and Sinbad alone with a passed out Ja'far.

Sakura immediately went to healing him; her hands glowed a bright green as she placed it over the boy; Sinbad watched in awe as the wounds began to close and vanish.

"That's amazing." Sinbad said

"It's nothing compared to my teacher," Sakura replied before looking at the passed out monster in the cage "Just how did Ja'far defeat that thing? It's a hundred times bigger than him and there's no way he did it with his weapons alone."

Shrugging Sinbad crossed his legs and sat down beside Sakura "I think we'll be able to ask him; he's waking up."

They watched as Ja'far's eyes fluttered open before he jumped up "Kikiriku!?"

"He's alright." Sakura reassured pulling the boy back to her

"Vittel and Mahad are taking care of him." Sinbad said

"Sinbad...Sakura?" Ja'far looked up at them in confusion "What happened?"

"That's what we want to know." Sinbad said

Ja'far seemed to think for a moment and then looked down at his blade which they now noticed was glowing a mysterious blue, exactly the same as Sinbad's sword when he activates Baal's power.

"If I remember correctly, a monster attacked me and a ray left this..."

"It's shining with my sword." Sinbad observed

" _It is a household vessel my king," Beleth spoke to Sakura_

"A household vessel," Sakura said looking at Ja'far "Beleth said that's what its called. Baal has given power to your weapon."

Sinbad appeared to be in thought now before speaking "If I am the first conqueror then you are the first djinn warrior!"

Smiling Ja'far looked up and nodded.

"By the way what the heck was with that performance earlier?"

The two conquerors started laughing.

* * *

That night everyone went to the inn where Sakura and Sinbad had stayed; there wasn't much time for a reunion though since Sinbad had to leave to take care of some business with Rashid regarding the company and everyone else was tired from the journey here also with the incident that happened that day with Ja'far and Kikiriku everyone felt it was best to turn in early. Sakura was in the room reminiscing about the past few weeks that she has been here in Reim with Sinbad; things were only going to get busier from here on in now that they were able to trade in Reim.

'Sinbad's one step closer to his dream and I...' Sakura sighed

Where was she?

* * *

The next morning Sakura took everyone out to show them the new shop where Sinbad was waiting for them with King Rashid. They were shocked to discover that even though they were only gone for a few months that not only had the two managed to get permission to trade in Reim and advertise the business by using their stories but they had also gotten their own store and it was marvellous.

Sinbad walked out of the building, gold and silver jewlry decorated Sinbad from head to toe making Sakura roll her eyes.

"Not even a women where's that much jewlry."

Hinahoho gasped when he laid eyes on Sinbad "S-Sinbad?"

"Hey everyone." Sinbad said trying to be cool "How is it? Not bad right? With this we can also trade in Reim and worldwide."

Rashid then gestured to Sakura to join Sinbad on the stairs to the entrance; when she did he started speaking.

"Sinbad, Sakura you've both worked hard."

Sinbad shook his head "It's all thanks to you sensei."

Sakura nodded "If it wasn't for your help, we would still be at square one. Thank you."

"No need to thank me," Rashid insisted "I also quite enjoy watching your efforts; the way the two of you worked together as a unit...Sinbad from now as both an adventurer and a merchant make an effort to do business. And Sakura, I hope that you continue to grow in strength and beauty and continue to support Sinbad as a future queen would support her king."

In an instant Sakura turned red and held out her hands "N-No; that-that's um..."

Sinbad chuckled appearing rather amused "Now who can't use words?"

Shooting him a deadly glare Sakura decided to just drop the subject; Rashid was obviously teasing her anyway since he was there when Sinbad had offered her half of their earnings for their story; so he would know that Sakura didn't plan on staying permanently.

"My official business is now over in Reim and I must return to Balbadd. If you come one day, visit the palace. Of course that includes trading with our country."

"Yes sensei."

They all watched as Rashid took his leave giving them a final farewell before he headed for the docks; as soon as he was out of sight the two teens were bombarded with questions.

"Who is your sensei?" Hinahoho asked

"He's not a normal person right?" Ja'far asked

"He taught us many things and he's the king of Balbadd." Sinbad told them casually

Sakura smacked her forehead at Sinbad's nonchalant attitude but at this point it shouldn't surprise her.

"THE KING?!"

"What exactly have the two of you been doing while we were gone?"

Sakura sighed "So many things, but let's leave the details for later I beg of you."

"B-But-

Sinbad interjected "She's right, we have to make up for lost time after all. The cargo's already unloaded right? Let's start doing business again. After all, we cannot waste time here. Trading is only necessary to raise money for our country; that is our goal after all!"

Hinahoho grinned and slung his arm over Sinbad "You really are one heck of a guy!"

Sakura scoffed softly but smiled "I'll say."

The Ja'far spoke "By the way what's this about Sakura being queen?"

"SHUT UP" the pinkette screamed making everyone laugh

 **That's all for now guys, hope you enjoyed it and look forward to another chapter soon.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	7. Abandon roles, back to the goal

**I know it's another super early update but I was so touched by the reviews that I had to get updating as soon as I could. Also, once I started university I know that I won't be able to give a lot of attention to my stories as I want so I figured while I have some free time let's update as much as I possibly can.**

* * *

Sakura Haruno discovered a secret room in Hokage Mountain and in that room was a mirror which transported her into another world and in this world she conquered a dungeon, gained the power of a djinn and discovered that the only way for her to return home was to recover the shards of the mirror that would lie with the djinn presently in this new world; she was more than ready take on the task have little to no choice in the matter but during her quest she crossed paths with an extraordinary boy that also held the power of a djinn; they had ventured into a dungeon where he came back with yet another djinn and Sakura was three shards closer to home. However, the mirror that transported her around that world seemed to suddenly stop working and leaving Sakura stranded in a strange land. With no other alternative she began to travel with said boy who was determined to become king of his country by becoming a merchant. She stayed with him and helped him establish a firm in the country Reim. With his comrades back at his side, his business set in motion and everything seeming to be going well-there was no longer a reason for Sakura to stay and assist the boy and could get along with her own goal.

'And yet five months later...'

Sakura let out a sigh as she began thinking back about these last few months she had been in this city...

* * *

"DAMMIT SINBAD WAKE UP. IT'S NEARLY TEN AND YOUR WERE SUPPOSE TO BE AT THE STORE AT 8" Sakura shouted grabbing the covers of the bed and pulling them off of the snoring figure. "I told you not to stay up late last night drinking and-

Sakura stopped mid sentence as what she saw had her wide eyed; face red; speechless and nearly passing out. Sinbad was lying in bed completely naked; his hair sprawled out on the pillow. Sinbad's eyes slowly opened as he sat up and let out a yawn stretching his limbs without a care of his current form of dress.

"Oh morning Sakura...man my heads killing me-

SMACK

"Why, aren't you wearing any clothes!?" Sakura demanded covering her eyes with her hands; she could feel her face burning. Sinbad however wasn't able to answer her because he was still recovering from the smack to the face first thing in the morning.

"I-I..." he tried but it was difficult to get the words out when you were slammed into a wall.

"Whatever just get dressed and come down for breakfast!" Sakura said before running out of the room and slamming the door shut.

* * *

Sinbad came down now fully dressed; he spotted Sakura sitting at a table watching him as he rushed over to her.

"Sorry about that..." he said sheepishly smiling

"Just eat." Sakura said crossing her arms over her chest "You need to get down to the shop soon."

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Sinbad asked before shoving a spoonful of food in his mouth.

"I did." Sakura said narrowing her eyes at him "At seven this morning but you wouldn't budge so I let you sleep and went to the store myself to help deal with things; but there are some things that only you-the store owner can do! So I came back now to call you. You're lucky Ja'far didn't come get you, he's gotten really good at using his household vessel."

Sinbad gulped before continuing to eat, no matter how painful Sakura's smacks might be, it was better than getting hit with lightning first thing in the morning. Mid-bite Sinbad's eyes darted up to Sakura who was just sitting there waiting for him. She was rather unusual to him, like he got this strange feeling about her, something telling him that she wasn't a normal girl-yes she conquered a dungeon all on her own and had this unusual strength and healing abilities yet he felt that there was something about her-something she didn't want anyone to know. And though subtle; she gave him this odd feeling which was unexplainable.

'Though not exactly unpleasant,' he conquered starring at her; he couldn't help but notice how captivating her emerald green eyes were; they held so much strength and wisdom and kindness that he had seen from her display many times but every now and then; they would hold sadness, hurt and longing...longing. It only happened when she thought no one could see. Like right now

"Um..."

"What?" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow at him

"Nothing," Sinbad said quickly and continued eating

* * *

"Eh Sakura..." Ja'far called rubbing his head "Vittel and I are having some trouble with these numbers, they aren't adding up."

The pinkette turned around from the window she was currently perched on eating a bowl of fruit and turned to them after taking a bite out of an apple.

"Sure..."

As Ja'far held up the sheet of paper Sakura's eyes scrolled over it a couple of times and then pointed to a few digits on the page "You made a little miscalculation over here that's why, it's not supposed to be 354 it's supposed to be 345; and you're not supposed to include this in the deductions. Hang on."

* * *

Sakura sat at the desk with Ja'far and Vittel on the opposite side of the desk. Ja'far-though young had turned out to be really bright and great at handling the paper work-which was good because Sinbad clearly didn't enjoy that part about running a business. Vittel was also the business accountant so he helped Ja'far but from time to time when they got stuck Sakura would pitch in and help them

"Business went really well this month." Ja'far said "That's why it's so busy right now."

Vittel nodded "Yes, Sinbad-sama and Sakura-san did a really good job with advertising the company."

Sakura sighed "It was mostly Sinbad, I didn't do much...here; it's fixed."

Ja'far went over the paper before smiling "Thank you Sakura."

She smiled at him, out of everyone she thought Ja'far was the one who had improved the most. He was very intelligent and worked hard. Although, he was still having some trouble overcoming his trauma of his past and from time to time would crawl into Sakura's bed and sleep by her but she didn't mind since she told him she welcomed him with open arms.

Vittel came around the table to Sakura's side "Um, Sakura-san there's another miscalculation here it seems."

Sakura took the parchment and began reading through it "I see, don't worry it's fixable."

* * *

"It might be a good idea to think about other branches," Sakura told Sinbad as he glanced over a couple of papers in his desk. He enjoyed owning a store but the work was gruelling and tiring, especially the paper work.

"These currency exchange rates are such a pain." Sinbad said as he skimmed over the papers before tossing them aside only to move on to the next. "We're trading with silver only so why are we going through this?"

"Silver content is extremely high which is why it is popular within trade" Sakura stated "The reason you are going through these are to avoid another major loss, you're lucky we picked it up."

"Well how was I supposed to know the content of silver in those coins was decreased?"

"Exactly and you weren't able to complain about it because it'd be in bad taste to become upset after allowing yourself to be deceived." Sakura lightly scolded waving a sheet of paper around "You need to take precautions with this especially if you're planning on ruling your own country one day. The strength of a country is epitomized by its currency regardless of the period of time. When the local market is dominated by a foreign currency; the country's economy will become dependent on it. You wouldn't want something like that to happen to you right? It's the same as losing a war"

Sinbad's expression turned serious and he nodded "You're right; there are still many more countries I want to establish an alliance with."

"That's smart, practicing trade across borders allows you to be on top of any fluctuations in the value of currency not to mention it gives you an edge over the competition due to your larger target market."

Sinbad rose his eyebrow at the pink haired ninja "Sakura, you know I'm only doing this to raise money for my country and establishing an alliance with other countries will strengthen my own."

"I know that." Sakura said rolling her eyes "But take the king of Balbadd for example; he still does trade and that strengthens the bonds between the countries he does business with. Even after you become king you will still be trading."

"I get it; I'm going to do my best to establish an alliance with those countries that are still untouched like Imuchakk."

"Gluttony may be destructive but that doesn't mean abstinence is constructive." Sakura said

"You're implying I'm greedy?" Sinbad asked smirking

"Well...you do want the power to change the world and that's a lot," she said in a matter of fact tone; after that she went back to the other pile of papers and scrolls sprawled around. Some were old and some were new. It seemed that Sinbad was not only a novice to trade but to arrangement as well.

"You know, you're really good at this sort of thing." Sinbad said offhandedly

"No; you're just lazy which is why you're so behind with your work hence why I am trying to sort out all of these documents."

Sinbad slumped as Sakura continued sorting through creating different piles, one of old documents that weren't important, documents that needed immediate attention and...fan mail which was an ever growing pile.

"Aren't you mister popular?" Sakura asked with a small smirk "You've got quite a bit of admirers."

Sinbad smirked back at her leaning back in his chair "Is that jealously I detect?"

"Oh contraire I hope you live a happy life with your fan girls showering you with gifts and letters of affection everyday for as long as you live." Sakura said fanning herself with one of the letters before tossing it in the pile; she went to pick up another one but stared at it strangely.

"Huh? One of them is addressed to me..."

Sinbad's face fell before he shot up from his desk and ran around to grab the letter from Sakura but she stepped away in time causing Sinbad lose his balance and knock into some boxes causing even more papers to fall out however when Sakura looked at the messy batch she saw that they were all letters and small gifts addressed to hers.

"Um Sinbad..." Sakura trailed feeling her brow twitch in irritation "What the hell is this?"

"Fan mail, that's all" Sinbad said standing up slowly, a nervous glint his eyes

"I can see that but they all seem to be addressed to me..."

"Well...

"So you can't arrange your other documents, files and scrolls but you are able to take the time to hide every single piece of fan mail sent to me?"

Sinbad fell silent not sure what to do, he didn't know to what degree Sakura's anger was spiked but he didn't want to make any sudden movements or it would be equivalent to poking a hibernating bear. The results would be catastrophic.

"Um...I was going to-

"Get rid of it before I could see any of them?" Sakura finished for him

"Yeah..." Sinbad said carefully taking a step back and looking at the door- that he wouldn't reach before Sakura clobbered him. "I mean it's all just junk mail that would take up too much of your time; so I wasn't going to bother you with it."

Sighing Sakura began to pile all of the mail together with the fan mail Sinbad had received.

"What are you doing?" Sinbad asked nervously

"I'm tossing it." Sakura stated "They're all junk mail so they're going in the trash."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Sinbad let out a sigh of relief "Okay...hey wait; my fan mail too!?"

"Of course." Sakura said picking up one of the letters "Oh this one's an invitation for you from a popular girl at an entertainment industry...oh seems like a VIP invite too. Oh well, like you said it's all just mail that takes up way too much of your time and isn't worth bothering to read right?"

Though when Sakura said that she had a glint in her eyes that shone with a malicious gleam as she ignored Sinbad's pleads to let him at least indulge in some of those letters.

"If you have time for that finish your work. Stupid future king!"

* * *

"Thanks for helping us unload all of this again Sakura." Hinahoho said looking at the pinkette walking beside him and Mahad; they were going to the docks to meet up with the ship that was delivering more goods to the store. Since the business's reputation began growing larger and larger everyone wanted to get their hands on the imported goods from Imuchakk therefore; they began requesting more stock and got more staff as well. Sindria trading company was becoming very big very quickly.

"Sure thing,"

* * *

"We're back!" Sakura called as she walked into the store carrying several heavy looking loads of boxes and bags stacked up on top of each other. The look's she was getting from everyone in the store was nothing compared to the ones she got when she, Hinahoho and Mahad headed back from the store warehouse. A tiny girl carrying all of those heavy boxes really makes a spectacle.

Hinahoho gave an awkward chuckle looking at Sakura "You sure saved us the two trips Sakura-come on we need some help unloading the rest of the cargo in the carriage!"

"You're welcome!" Sakura responded placing the cargo down "Now let's begin restocking!"

* * *

"Peek-a-boo," Sakura cooed softly at Kikiriku who beamed at her sitting in front of her. Even though he was barely a year Kikiriku was already the same height as Ja'far which seemed to agitate the young ex-assassin ever so slightly though Sakura reassured him that he would still grown (she wasn't sure how much). She found out by Ja'far that Rurumu gave birth while they were on the ship in the middle of one of Ja'far's lesson. He had become grim after saying that and accusingly yelled at Sakura.

" _HOW COULD YOU STAY BEHIND LIKE THAT?"_

" _Huh?" Sakura asked in confusion_

" _If you had been there on the ship when it had happened then I wouldn't have...I wouldn't have seen and, and-AAAAHH"_

She and Sinbad were laughing for days after that; Hinahoho explained that Ja'far had to be there to witness the process of Rurumu giving birth as she told him it was part of his lessons. Though Sakura had to admit in that case she would've been of some help since she was a medic but not everyone knew it at the time, Ja'far was only saying that because he figured a women should help a women bring new life into the world-not an eleven year old.

Sakura enjoyed taking Kikiriku and looking after him; it gave her an excuse to go out for a walk while she carried him around till he fell asleep or just allow her to get a breather from helping with the company. Right now she was just sitting in one of the rooms of the store and keeping him busy.

Kikiriku let out a cute laugh and clapped his hands as he watched the pinkette.

"You're too cute!" Sakura gushed with a bright smile "Can you walk yet huh baby?"

"Ahah..breww..." were the noises Kikiriku made in response while flaying his arms around excitedly. Sakura patted his head just as Rurumu walked in.

"Oh Sakura, I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time. Thank you for watching him."

Sakura shook her head bashfully "I enjoy it, he's too adorable."

"Well in any case, you can go ahead and enjoy the rest of your day. I know it's so rare you get a day off here."

Sakura nodded and stood up after giving a kiss to Kikiriku but when she stood up and walked to the door she heard crying and saw Kikiriku's eyes filled with tears about to fall.

"My, it seems he is very fond of you Sakura." Rurumu said but then they saw something that made both females become still.

With shaking legs Kikiriku pushed himself up from the floor and stood, very shaky he started taking small steps making Sakura gasped and move closer to the baby along with Rurumu.

"Oh my!"

"He's walking..." Sakura said gaping as Rurumu came to stand beside her.

After only several steps Kikiriku's legs gave out and he fell to the back in a sitting position. Sakura and Rurumu became excited and rushed to the baby.

"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Sakura smiling widely

Rurumu picked up her son "Your dad's going to be surprised to hear this and a bit disappointed he wasn't here."

Sakura gave a small laugh "I can't believe I saw him take his first steps."

There was an odd bubbling sensation that filled her chest, when she looked at Rurumu nuzzling her child. The Imuchakk women looked at Sakura with a smile.

"I think he was really worried about you leaving."

Sakura blushed and raised her hands "No way; it was just a coincidence! But...I am happy I was able to see it...to be able to feel this happiness."

Rurumu looked at Sakura; observing her face before smiling "As you are now, you'd make an excellent mother."

Sakura's face dropped as she became flustered "E-Eh? Me-Me; not for years! I mean...yeah not for a long time!"

"We'll see, after all fate works in strange ways..."

* * *

"No, that's not how you should write those characters, Sinbad it's not that curved."

"Argh! What the hell."

"You want people to be able to actually read your stories right?" Sakura pointed out watching as Sinbad attempted to fix his mistake, they were both unable to read in the begging but Rurumu had helped them quickly although Sakura picked up things quicker and could already read and write in the strange new language as oppose to Sinbad who-even though he was actually born to this world had some trouble still with placing the words right when he wrote; yet he spoke flawlessly.

"I got it..." Sinbad muttered

Sakura sighed; Sinbad had taken Rashid's advice to start a manuscript of his stories and would take some time out of his busy schedule of running his trade business to write.

"Let's see, clusters of crystals shimmering even where the son did not reach...how does that sound?" Sinbad asked scratching his head, though this was the more enjoyable part of his day it was still a bit of trouble.

"It's great." Sakura said though her voice seemed distant as if she wasn't really paying attention.

Sinbad looked at her concerned "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked looking at him before shaking her head "No it's nothing. Come on, this is the final editing before you send this off right; just a few more. After that you can take a break."

Sinbad looked up at her with beaming eyes "Yeah!"

* * *

Sakura chopped the vegetables carefully under the watchful eye of Rurumu, ever since she had returned back from their restocking voyage Sakura, Sinbad and Ja'far's lessons had begun again only not as long however for Sakura it was a different story since there was apparently still so much for her to learn far beyond the terms of normal education.

"You're much better at this now." Rurumu observed

Sakura nodded as she added the ingredients into the curry; it was a simple enough dish she thought. They had been having fish for a while and she thought that some meat would really be appreciated. The way things were going, everyone was always so busy so it was nice to take a break and just sit together around the table and eat enjoying each other's company. Sakura remembered when she use to get together with all of her friends from the village when they weren't out on missions and take that rare chance to all just go to a restaurant together and eat. They would usually try and stick the bill with one person when they themselves couldn't afford to pay for their meal however sometimes none of them would be able to pay and they'd end up on dish duty together.

'Still, it was fun' Sakura thought as she continued to stir the pot 'I miss them...'

"You're well on your way to becoming the perfect wife."

Sakura laughed "Why do you always say things like that to me? I highly doubt I'll ever be considered marriageable material."

Rurumu frowned at the negative comment "Why would you say that?"

"Because," Sakura took a breath "I'm not really built for it, when I was young I always fantasized about being married and having a family with the man of my dreams but..."

The hilt of the knife in Sakura's hand nearly cracked under the grip "I'm not cut out for it. That fantasy world that I lived in has caused people pain and made me lose friends. I was too caught up in my own world that I never noticed what was right in front of me; I didn't realise just how weak I was-a burden and deadweight to everyone around me. My eyes were opened in a very harsh way and I became content with becoming nothing but strong, powerful enough to protect myself and those around me. So that one day...I could make up for my past mistakes. I will make up for it; I will make it up to _him_ "

"I take it this him is the boy you claimed to be in love with?"

Sakura nodded solemnly

"Well it seems you are still unable to see what is right in front of you." Rurumu said offhandedly

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked getting defensive but her face softened when Rurumu placed her large hand on the side of her face in a comforting manner.

"You have been with us for how many months now? And during that time how much have you accomplished with Sinbad-sama? I know that you deny it but you've helped build this company. You can take charge of everything when Sinbad-sama is unable to; you've integrated yourself not only into this company but into the lives of everyone around you. Not many people can do the things you have done and at your age. You're not only fit to be a good wife, you're fit to be an excellent queen."

"What?" Sakura asked baffled now "I-wait I'm not going to become queen or anything like that! It was a joke that-

"That may be true but nonetheless I can tell that you would make an excellent queen." Rurumu said strongly "You are strong; kind; compassionate; and would be able to keep your king in order."

"But I'm not...

Rurumu placed a hand on the pinkette's shoulder "I'm aware that your heart is set on someone else at the moment but keep in mind that hearts can change."

* * *

Sakura breathed in softly before starring out towards the ocean; she was standing out by the docks further away from the company. A gentle breeze kissed her skin as she reminisced about the last couple of months. Five months in this city. She had never been able to forget Rurumu's words to her. This world was cruel yet she had made a place for herself in it without even knowing it. She was working hard every day in order to help Sinbad achieve his dream but during that time she seemed to be thinking about her own less and less as time passed. If it continued; she knew that eventually she wouldn't care about returning home anymore and would want to stay; with them; with him. She was making a life for herself in this world and that was unacceptable.

Grasping the mirror in her hand she looked at it for the first time in months; really looked at it closely.

"Only three..." Sakura muttered feeling her heart sink "I've spent all this time here; and I've only managed to get three. How pathetic,"

"You know, it's really chilly at night. You should wear a coat."

Sakura gasped and swirled around ready to fight in case of any danger but lowered her guard when she saw none other than Yunan standing at the end of the peer smiling at her.

"What? Yunan; what are you doing here?" Sakura asked suspiciously

The young man waved his hand "I felt something disturbing and thought I'd better take a look."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and pouted "So you found me? That's insulting."

"Sorry, sorry," he said coming up to her "It's been a while, how are you?"

Sakura looked down at the sea, watching her reflection "Well; I guess I'm alright."

"It doesn't seem like it."

She sighed twirling a piece of her hair which had really grown over the months; she needed to cut it again but had been so preoccupied it slipped her mind.

"You caught me, I'm worried Yunan. I've been here for so long and it feels like I've done absolutely nothing and I think frustrations finally caught up with me."

There was only silence between the two for a moment "What do you want?"

"Huh?"

"It's a simple question don't you think? What is it that you want? What do you desire above all else?"

Sakura took off her headband and looked at her reflection as she held it tightly "I...want to go home."

"More than anything?"

"Of course!" Sakura said feeling tears gather in her eyes "There shouldn't be a need to ask that question."

"Then why is it you are still here?" Yunan asked making her gasp "Why haven't you proceeded to move forward?"

"I-I don't know where I'm suppose to go in order to get home." Sakura attempted to justify; she pulled out the mirror and held it up to Yunan "It's this things fault, I thought it would bring me to where I needed to go in order to finally reach home but it just stopped! No matter how many times I say the chant."

Yunan shook his head. "That's because deep down, you don't want to leave. You are anchored; attached yourself to this world. You will only be allowed to roam when you let go of your attachments."

Sakura knew what he meant, she was attached; to Ja'far, Rurumu, Hinahoho, Vittel, Mahad, Kikiriku and Sinbad...she had been attached to him since Imuchakk; that was why she couldn't leave. He had captivated her as he did everyone else in that dungeon; making them loyal to him. The only way for her to continue her journey was to let go, severe the ties she had made to this world so that she could journey again.

'If I don't do this, I'll never be able to go back home again...but would that be so bad?'

" _I know that the four of us have worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead but in the end I've decided on revenge. That's always been my reason for living. I'll never like you and Naruto."_

'Sasuke; how hard or easy was it for you to leave us all behind?' Sakura thought looking at the mirror 'To abandon everyone by speaking a few simple words.'

"I know that we worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead." Sakura started speaking in a stoic voice "but in the end I've decided...to leave and go home, back to the place where I belong. This place will never be home; home will never be with you."

Then she heard a distinct whispering of a voice; it wasn't Yunan but as it whispered to her she heard the words clearly as if they were being screamed at her.

' **Only that which is desired will allow you to transpire"**

Sakura opened her eyes; her eyes fixed only on the ocean waves "I understand now."

Yunan nodded "I hadn't wanted to tell you this but, in the end the final decision is yours."

Sakura opened her mouth and began to speak

 _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

 _Find those who have been scattered_

 _To retrieve that which has been shattered_

 _Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon_

 _Will help you mend what has been broken._

 _Permission from a king is required_

 _To achieve what is desired_

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece_

And just like that, she was gone. Yunan stood on the dock and looked up at the sky.

"I wonder...Sakura such cruel words you spoke, to those who were unable to hear it, what will you do in the end?"

 **There you have it, I know that a lot of my readers may have wanted her to stay with Sinbad but she's on a mission of her own. Don't worry though; there are still more chapters ahead for many, many more things to happen. After all, the world might not be small but fate likes to play tricks sometimes.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	8. A flower blossomed

**Hello everyone, now heads ups, this story is a little rushed I literally started on it straight after I posted the last chapter which wasn't that long ago just so I could get it to you wonderful readers so I do hope you like it.**

* * *

When Sakura first discovered she was trapped in another world, she thought of nothing but returning back to her own, then she met a boy who captured her interest. With that she strayed from her own path to walk along side him; determined to help him achieve his goals and while she began to integrate into this world; she began forgetting the reason she was here-she was forgetting that she was trapped. Finally, the fact that she would never truly belong here hit her and shame-filled she abandoned those she had grown close to in order to continue on with her journey, alone with no distractions.

After she left the city of Naporlia in Reim; Sakura opened her eyes and found herself in what she would describe as the middle of nowhere, a forest where it appeared no man has ever treaded before; with no clear path out. However, she knew that there had to be a dungeon somewhere in the area. It has been four days already of travelling through the dense forest and while beautiful it was also very deadly. The animals didn't take kindly to intruders but then again Sakura was no ordinary intruder and while she did her best to respect the forest; she would do whatever it took to survive. She had been in the forest many times before and could make due even when she had nothing on her. In the day she travelled; managing to make great distances thanks to her ninja abilities; she would stay in the trees to keep watch out for any huge tower that could pass for a dungeon.

At night however Sakura rested, she would make a fire, eat and sleep replenished for the following day.

Once again when she used the power of the Looking Glass, all she carried was the clothes on her back and her djinn. Of course, when she thought back she realised that she didn't really have anything else, other than clothes Sakura had left behind in Reim there was nothing else, she didn't have any trinkets and such-well except for the a hairpin she had gotten as a gift from Sinbad that had gone with her as it was still in her hair at the time. When she was there she never even thought about those things because she was so busy helping with the company.

" _You are not a very materialistic person are you my king?" asked Beleth_

"Hmm; I'm not sure about that perhaps it's only in this world since I won't be able to enjoy it for very long." Sakura said before munching on an apple "It's not like I can take things back with me."

" _Why do you think that?"_

Sakura shrugged this time "I'm not sure; maybe I don't want any reminders that I was ever here."

" _What about me? Surely you don't intend to leave me behind once you return?"_

She started laughing out loud "Oh I didn't think about that but no, I couldn't leave you behind. You are in the headband of my village. Say, is it possible to give you to someone else?"

" _I beg your pardon?"_

"Is it possible to give you away to someone else and let them use your power?"

" _That I am uncertain and please do not sound so casual about discarding me, I do feel pain." Beleth answered honestly and then he asked "Do you not miss them?"_

Sakura sat up a little straighter at the question, there hadn't been mention of Sinbad or his companions since she left but it seemed that that was a temptation topic that couldn't be resisted for long.

"No," Sakura replied "I don't. Besides I highly doubt my presence will be missed, once they get over it they'll see that this is the way things are meant to be."

" _Are you referring to them or yourself?"_

Beleth was met with stony silence

* * *

"Finally," Sakura sighed in relief as she looked at the huge building in front of her.

Nearly an entire week in the wilderness; Sakura finally discovered a dungeon deep within the mountains. The tower stood tall and lean, carvings etched into it; Sakura began walking up the long flight of stairs that lead up to the entrance. She peered on the top, there were clouds gathering around it from the top like a hurricane about to appear. Sakura looked at the doors and reached forward.

"Here goes nothing."

* * *

Do you know that feeling you get when you're falling from somewhere really high? Your stomach feels like there's butterflies fluttering around in it, your heart speeds up, you feel the wind against your face hitting you so hard it hurts and you can't even breath. That's what Sakura was feeling; she was falling; falling from the sky.

"This is not what I was expecting!" Sakura exclaimed closing her eyes, shielding them from the harsh wind. She hadn't caught sight of the ground, just soft looking clouds that she continued to fall through.

Nearly fifteen minutes now and Sakura was no close to seeing the bottom of this dungeon.

"Beleth, do you think this dungeon has a floor or am I just supposed to conquer this dungeon while falling through the sky?"

" _I don't know my king, perhaps there is something you have missed."_

Sighing Sakura held out her hand in front of her "Let's find out, BELETH."

Her hand transformed and then dark flames came out, Beleth's flames were not normal flames; Sakura discovered they were able to mould and take the shape of anything she chose, Beleth had informed her that it was not all his flame could do but Sakura had yet to discovered what her djinn's other talents were.

The flames cut through the clouds and from it, appeared what looked like a cobble stone floor. Sakura smirked as she landed down with a loud crash, the ground beneath her cracked and bent; breaking into many pieces but Sakura remained unharmed. After dusting off her ragged and tattered clothes Sakura got a proper look around.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked in confusion

There was nothing here other than a small round cobble stone ground, running along in tiny paths was water flowing freely down, a few trees growing within it and blue sky as far as the eye could see and also a giant stone head standing in the centre of it but other than that there was nothing. Nothing that Sakura could consider a way to make it through the dungeon, unless she started falling again but that wouldn't bring up much result.

"Beleth this can't be right." Sakura said reaching the edge before looking down "There's nothing...whoa!"

Looking down Sakura discovered many different floating structures similar to the one she was currently standing, however they were all different; some had more trees that could make for a forest and others were barren with only water flowing down, others had lush green patches of grass and others had visible structures on it like small rock hills, there were even some structures smaller that lead to the other structures like a path.

"I don't know what kind of djinn I'm getting but they sure have good tastes in dungeon designs."

" _My king; please do not let your guard down. Even though it may be pretty; doesn't mean it is safe. It's still a dungeon."_

"Of course," Sakura said snapping out of her trance "Now question is; how do I get to those other floating isles?"

Turning back to the large stone in the centre Sakura saw something written on it. It was in the language known as Tran. A complex language that Sakura had begun to learn while she was in Reim and though it was hard she had gotten a decent grasp on it; she never would've thought it would be used in a dungeon.

She began to read in inscription on the stone.

 **To reach what you wish to claim you must complete three tasks.**

 **Clear the land of its enemy before it peaks**

 **Find the key of hearts**

 **Enter through the gate of gold**

 **Journey through the sky using its gates but do not let it be your guide.**

 **Trust the way of the wind and return to the beginning.**

'Why couldn't this dungeon be simple like Beleth or Valefor?' Sakura thought sighing; she placed her hand on the stone tablet, when she did a bright light shot from it and following it with her eyes landed at the end of the isle, there now stood a circle spinning in the air.

"Okay...weird."

Sakura stepped closer and closer towards the object and reached out towards it, after that a force pulled her in and Sakura felt her entire body being sucked through, there were flashes of colours all around her before they vanished and she found herself in another area. Then her thoughts wondered to how she got to this are of the dungeon just when she was in another.

* * *

Sakura gasped as it finally clicked "Oh, now I get it, those are the gates I have to use to get around this place."

" _So it would seem."_

This isle was much different than the previous one, it was surrounded by a lush green field with a few trees surrounding the area which was also much larger than the previous one; there was a single beautiful pink coloured budded flower near bloom.

'A bud waiting to bloom,' Sakura thought; now that brought back some bittersweet memories. When Sakura had compared herself to her friend Ino as flowers, she asked if Ino was a Therowarp then was she just as Cosmose-a flower that complimented the therowarp? Ino had surprised Sakura with the answer.

" _Actually, I don't think of you as a flower at all Sakura but a bud waiting to bloom. That's why I helped you, because I thought it would be sad if you withered away as a bud, I mean how sad is it if flowers never bloom? For all we know that little bud may become a flower more beautiful than a Cosmose."_

She shook her head; it was stupid to think about that now. Even when she began to change it was not for the better, her confidence become arrogance, her strength made her oblivious to her weakness and her ideals of love cost her, a friend.

"Argh, I don't have time for this."

Sakura was now trying to make sense of what exactly it was she needed to do here she began reciting the instructions she memorised from the tablet.

"Clear the land of its enemy before it peaks, find the key of hearts and enter through the gate of gold. Simple enough..." she muttered the last part sarcastically. "Now what enemy; am I supposed to-

A loud shrieking noise cut Sakura off from her thoughts and made her cover her eyes that felt like they were about to bleed; looking up she saw sever dozen flying monsters appear, they had human faces-if not hideous ones but feathers around their long bodies, sharp talons on the feet, large wings by the arms. They were monsters called Harpies.

'Joy-not' Sakura thought as they flew towards her, one swooped down towards her with its claws ready to attack. She ducked just as the first harpies claws were about to make contact with her. However more were coming which didn't give her much time for celebration and this time they were swooping down all at once trying to claw out her eyes-and probably the rest of her.

'There's no way I'm letting that happen!'

Sakura was ducking and dodging all of the attacks however the harpies were flying extremely fast, so fast that they just looked like blurs and while she was able to avoid them but she wasn't able to go on the offensive with them all coming at her one after the other. One of them had managed to get their talons to scratch across her back tearing her clothes and ripping through her flesh creating a light gash, nothing she was too concerned about but it did tick her off to a certain degree.

"THAT'S IT"

Sakura stood up taking a fighting stance as the harpies prepared for another assault. This time when they charged forward, Sakura grabbed hold of one harpy's legs when they tried to claw at her and then flung the creature into one another skidding across the ground before tumbling and falling.

She jumped into the air and began fighting while she was air-born; she attempted to aim for the wings in order to destroy their flight mobility to give her more of an advantage.

The battle was fierce as more seemed to be appearing out of nowhere; Sakura wasn't entirely sure but she knew she didn't count as much as there was now.

"Beleth!"exclaimed Sakura, her hand changing into claws and her skin becoming red she threw her hand into the air and unleashed the flames of her djinn; in that single attack the heat could be felt at an incredible degree. The concept of magoi was still something Sakura couldn't fully grasp but that didn't mean she was oblivious as to how to use her new powers.

She heard the harpies shriek in agony as Sakura managed to envelope them all in her flames as it clear, the smell of burn was strong in the air. Landing back down she watched as the harpies began falling through the clouds to who knows where.

"Well I think that takes care of 'clear the land of its enemy'" Sakura said huffing

However before Sakura could properly turned around she hear the familiar screech of the harpy and saw that there were more appearing from beyond the clouds and heading for her. She stomped her foot on the ground angrily.

"Oh come on!"

* * *

Sakura panted heavily as she watched yet another harpy fall from the sky, although Sakura wasn't feeling too good about the victory as it wasn't over. In fact she had been battling these creatures for what felt like hours. There was no end to the harpies that continued to swarm her from every direction. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to fight. No matter how many she defeated there were always more arriving.

'I don't get it,' Sakura thought feeling like she was about to fall over. Several scratches from the sharp talons marred her skin.

" _My king; please think! there must be something you missed."_

Sakura started racking her brain, there had to be something but the only thing carved in the tablet was these exact instructions as she recalled word for word.

"Clear the land of its enemy before it peaks, find the key of hearts and enter through the gate of gold" Sakura said looking up at the sky as more harpies began gathering and there were way more than ever before. They always seemed to increase with every one she defeated.

One soared down towards her and Sakura barely avoided it, she flew across the ground and rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop. Her vision blurred slightly but as she opened it she was met with the budded flower...that was beginning to blossom right before her eyes, it was nearly all the way open. The petals on the outside was this magnificent shade of blue blended with pink; Sakura starred at in awe as if it would be the last thing she ever saw.

'And it might be...' Sakura thought, a pitiful feeling beginning to fill her as she realised she was helpless, her body refused to move as the harpies began coming towards her. Tears of frustration filled her eyes.

Was this really it? Was she destined to die in this place where no one would ever find her? How long has it been since she felt this useless? She had trained all those years to catch up to her friends so that she wouldn't be a burden to them. Then she went and got herself trapped in another world where she swore she would do whatever it takes to get back home.

'I can't...' Sakura thought gripping the earth tightly in her hands as she looked at the flower bud about to be in full bloom; the wind blew across the grass as she felt it kiss her skin, it was a nice feeling and sound "I can't die here..."

"Kukuku..." a voice filled her ears making her gasp and look around for the source but there was nothing "Foolish little girl; stupid little girl. Abandon everything and accept the end..."

Still unable to find the source of the voice Sakura's eyes settled back on the flower but then she saw it as the flower opened a bit more, a dark presence was given from it; the grass around it began turning brown instantly. There were eyes forming on the petals, dark eyes that were looking right at her and in that instance Sakura remembered.

"Clear the land of its enemy before it peaks."

It made sense now, what she had to do.

The flower looked directly at Sakura and she heard that sinister voice snicker "Stupid girl realised too late, soon everything will die as I bloom including you and you will fail."

Sakura growled as she attempted to draw up Beleth's power but realised that she was unable too. She had used her djinn too much in the battle against the harpies that it tired her out.

'Th-this is the end...'

Dread filled her now, unable to speak as she looked at the flower so close and yet so far.

And then the flower said something "Too weak."

Weak; how she despised that word more than anything. It made her blood boil every single time she heard it. All that effort she put into maintaining her composure was lost in an instant; her blood boiled. Rage filling her caused her aching muscles to move on their own as Sakura stood up and looked at the flower with a menacing expression, blood dripping onto the ground was being absorbed by the odd plant.

The flower started to grow; extremely fast and extremely large, vines came out of it and whipped around. The harpies that were attacking Sakura fled the sight in fear.

"It's too late!" the flower exclaimed "You have failed."

Sakura looked up at the huge plant; it was obvious she wasn't going to be able to use Beleth but she was far from finished. Gathering chakra in the palms of her hands Sakura spoke "You know Ino told me it's sad when flowers don't get the chance to bloom however I bet it's even sadder when the flowers you waited to bloom turn out to be so ugly on the inside."

The vines whipped towards Sakura but she vanished and materialised in the air as she came down towards the ground she said "One way to get rid of bad plants is...PULL OUT THE ROOTS."

With a power charka filled fist Sakura cracked and crumbled the ground around the plant luckily she didn't entirely destroy the fairly large grounds or she would be falling through the sky again. She watched as the plant fell however what Sakura was aiming for was to expose the roots of the plants. When the smoke cleared the ground was complete broken apart viewing the roots but she saw something else that horrified her.

Bones; all scattered beneath the earth as well as fresh carcases of harpies and humans that must've also wandered into this dungeon. The stench was overwhelming and made Sakura feel like throwing up. An extra thick root Sakura could see and it was wrapped around something...a blue spear with something floating inside of it; it was decorated with feathers and shaped like a heart."

"The key of hearts," she said out loud before something slammed into her from behind hitting her open wound and sending her flying to the back. Sakura groaned in pain as her back ached, then something dark came over her before slamming down onto her hard again.

"Stupid girl; stupid girl; stupid girl; stupid girl." Said the plant over and over again as it whipped her back swiftly and painfully.

Sakura screamed in agony as she felt another hit on her back, it was like it was being split open.

'I-I can't get up...'

" _My king" Beleth's voice rank through hear ears "Do not give up, you must stand and fight"_

"I-I can't."

" _You must!" Beleth cried "You still have strength; your power cannot be limited! You must fight. Do not surrender."_

"I can't do this..." Sakura cried allowing the hot tears to fall on the ground "I'm not like them; I'm not Naruto or Sasuke. I-I can't fight-

" _You must; aside for your life there is something else you must fight for-your pride." Beleth said in what sounded like a frustrated tone "Fight with everything you have to guard it, fight to protect what you are."_

Sakura's eyes widened "The pride of a ninja..."

As another vine came down towards her Sakura grasped it in her hand tightly; squeezing it so hard a purple fluid began to seep out of it and burn her skin but Sakura didn't heed it as she forced her way back to her feet and then releasing it she moved forward avoiding the vines that came at her.

"OH SPIRIT OF STRENGTH AND DISCORD HEED MY CALL; USE MY MAGOI AND GRANT ME POWER TO DESTROY ME ENEMY; BELETH."

A powerful surge of power ran through Sakura's body as she felt herself being engulfed by a warm light. From it she emerged completely transformed, a third eye appeared in the middle of her forehead but it was black, her pink hair became a reddish-gray, there were two horns sticking out from her hair; bat-likes wings on her back; her clothes she wore had changed into a black dress that tied from behind her neck was cut off in the centre in a diamond showing off the centre of her chest and stomach, then it closed and fell down in three parts of material all the way down revealing her legs that were now kept in long silver boots.

Sakura's face had become blank as she looked down at the dungeon creature now standing in the air; she raised her hands in the air; a sphere of black flames began forming and growing.

"Khilaf NAR"

 **(This translates to Discord fire-well I'm assuming since I don't speak Arabic but I'm just going to go with this)**

The flames engulfed the flower and everything else destroying the entire isle, Sakura watched as nothing remained except for the key. Flying towards it Sakura reached out with a talon hand and clutched it close.

She quickly rushed towards another isle and landed feeling her power depleting, the second her feet touched the ground she transformed back feeling exhaustion finally take over her as she ungracefully fell to the ground and fell unconscious still holding the key.

'I did it.'

* * *

" _Sakura...Sakura...SAKURA WAKE UP."_

 _The pinkette's eyes shot open only to be met with golden ones, letting out a scream she immediately aimed her fists on instinct for the culprit but stopped when she heard a cry._

" _Sakura it's me!"_

 _Looking up she saw Sinbad holding his arms over his face to protect it from the blow. She looked at him completely drowsy and lost._

" _Sinbad, what are you doing?" she asked tiredly rubbing her eyes as she looked outside of her window to catch the sun shining brightly._

 _The purple head grinned at her suddenly and climbed on her bed "Come on get ready for the day!"_

" _Alright, alright..." Sakura muttered yawning softly before getting up from bed; it was strange though-the fact that Sinbad was actually waking her up since it was usually the other way around and then something else occurred to her. This caused her to turn furiously back to Sinbad and glare at him while he looked up at her with 'innocent' eyes._

" _What?"_

" _Sinbad..." she began slowly "It's my day off isn't it?"_

" _Yeah so?"_

" _So why the hell did you wake me up?" Sakura asked huffing angrily_

 _Sinbad leaned against the headrest of the bed and sighed "Well I figured since it's the first time we get a day off in such a long time we'd do a little sightseeing."_

" _The only sight I want to see is my bed." Sakura stated moving back over to lie down after pushing Sinbad off._

 _Getting up from the floor and dusting himself off Sinbad grabbed the covers and threw them off of Sakura. "Come on wake up! We're heading out in ten minutes and if you're still in bed I'll come back up and dress you myself...on second thought you can go ahead and sleep in then I'll-_

" _Finish that sentence and I'll make sure you can't have children, believe me I have the medical knowledge to live up to my words."_

 _Sinbad gulped loudly feeling his sweat drop nervously "W-Well, it's not like a want kids anyway."_

" _Well I'd still worry about me being able to turn your 'boys' into 'girls'"_

 _Sakura grinned evilly as she heard quick footsteps and then the slamming of her door and thought she was in the clear to enjoy the rest of her lazy day but then she heard Sinbad yelling._

" _I only wanted to spend time with you!"_

 _When she heard that she felt a trickle of guilt; it was amazing how Sinbad could use his words to overpower anyone. Truly scary, now she wouldn't be able to rest peacefully with this guilt eating away at her._

 _Groaning she stood up "Goodbye sleep."_

* * *

 _Sakura and Sinbad walked through the streets together, Sakura looking completely worn out before the day even began and Sinbad beaming brightly like he won a prize._

" _You know..." Sakura began eerily "There are some days where I really can't stand you."_

 _Sinbad continued to smile mischievously "Then why did you change your mind about coming with me?"_

 _Biting the inside of her cheeks Sakura glared ahead of her making a couple of people stare; the only reason she came along was because she would've been filled with guilt the whole day and Sinbad would've sulked right in front of her to make her feel worse. He did it before when she wouldn't let him leave early to go drinking at a pub._

" _Because your face would've been hanging on the floor the rest of the week if I hadn't and I'd have to look at your gloomy mug,"_

 _Sinbad threw his arm over her shoulder "Well thanks for coming."_

 _Sakura scoffed shrugging off his arm "So what are we going to do now?"_

" _Whatever we want." He pointed to a large building that was a store "Let's start there and work our way up."_

* * *

 _Sinbad basically dragged Sakura all around Naporlia to shop and look at its various attractions. It annoyed Sakura when it came to shopping because Sinbad had this unhealthy habit of being a bit over excessive when it came to spending, he basically bought himself a brand new wardrobe and insisted that Sakura try on outfits as well-most that he chose and she did not like. They were either too flashy and revealing or not suited to her tastes._

" _No way!" Sakura stated "I'm not coming out!"_

 _She heard Sinbad sigh "Come on, I promise I won't laugh this time."_

" _That's what you said the last three times!"_

" _Just come on out and I promise no more outfits."_

 _Taking a deep breath Sakura stepped out nervously from the small room, she was wearing a long sleeveless peach pink dress with a red top over with black piping and flower patterns on it; there was a ribbon flowing at the back where it tied; it was very feminine and in Sakura's opinion not meant for her._

 _Sinbad seemed to be starring for a while as Sakura kept her head bowed down; her cheeks burning in embarrassment. She never wore things like this even back home, her outfits were usually plain and simple not delicate with designs._

" _It looks good." Sinbad said in approval but Sakura shook her head_

" _This is not how a kunoichi should dress." Sakura said turning back to change but Sinbad stopped her_

" _Wear it like that, I'm gonna go pay and have the rest of the stuff sent back to the company."_

 _Sinbad did just that and to make matters worse he sent back Sakura's clothes that she was wearing before so she wouldn't change back._

* * *

 _A change of clothes became the least of Sakura's problem as the day progressed and Sinbad took her everywhere he wanted to go; they had never really taken a look at the city since they were swarmed with work so Sinbad was clearly trying to make up for it and Sakura was just there for the ride._

 _Sinbad seemed to enjoy the fact that for once he was the one being entertained instead of the other way around. He took them all over, from shopping districts; to theatres, to the gambling halls which she was REALLY reluctant to go to however she also felt the need to keep an eye on Sinbad in this situation for just in case moments. As it turned out Sinbad was rather good at gambling-made sense to her; he won quite a sum before finally turning in; that alone lasted three hours as Sinbad didn't want to leave._

" _Seriously Sinbad, you're going to develop a gambling problem and that'll fall next to your drinking and women problems." Sakura said rubbing her forehead_

 _Sinbad merely shrugged "Hey, what can I say I like to go all out."_

" _Of your mind,"_

 _GRRRRRRRR_

 _They stopped and Sakura's face flushed red when she realised Sinbad heard her stomach growl while he just grinned pleasantly._

" _Let's eat."_

* * *

 _Sitting across from Sinbad; Sakura let her eyes linger on the young man as he ate; his enthusiasm was something she was still getting use to despite having been with him for a few months now. Perhaps it was something she would never get use to yet it wasn't unpleasant; not all the time at least. He was very optimistic as well, even when reality seemed to knock them down he never stayed down for long and when he got back up he was able to move forward no matter what. He was determined to build his own country to change the world but she couldn't help wonder if he would change once he achieved his goal. One he became king would he really use his power to change the world? Or would he get swept up in the responsibility of ruling a country? It was an odd thing to think about especially since it didn't have anything to do with her._

 _Sinbad stopped eating "What's wrong?"_

 _Snapping out of her daze she shook her head quickly trying to brush off that she was caught starring and turned down to her own food barely touched._

" _This is good," she said chewing slowly savouring the flavour_

" _I know right," Sinbad said with a grin "Oh yeah I meant to ask what's a kunoichi?"_

 _Sakura nearly choked "Huh?"_

" _You mentioned that word earlier on; you said this is not how a kunoichi should dress right? So what is that?"_

 _Sakura coughed before taking a sip of water "It's what I am."_

 _Cocking his head to the side curiously he spoke "Would you like to explain what that is?"_

 _Knowing full well that Sinbad would persist until he got an answer so she would give him one "I'm a kunoichi, someone who has devoted their life to being a living tool for other's purpose; I must complete any task I am assigned to from my superiors without complaint or regard for my own personal feelings and life."_

 _Sinbad frowned when Sakura said that, there was obvious disdain visible on his face "That doesn't sound like a very enjoyable career."_

 _Sakura stared at her reflection in the water as she clutched the cup in her hands "Well it's certainly dangerous and known for being brief however it is respectable where I'm from. Also, you are deployed when you are twelve; you do have a sensei when you start out and two other teammates."_

" _What kind of jobs do you do?" Sinbad asked sounding really interested now_

" _All kinds, it depends." Sakura explained "Starting off the jobs usually aren't dangerous but as you progress you are given harder jobs that evidently require you to put your life on the line."_

" _What about war?" Sinbad asked suddenly_

 _Sakura looked up at him "What about war?"_

" _Are you so called 'tools' used for war?"_

 _There was a moment of silence that fell between the two, Sakura wasn't entirely sure if she should answer that question. Yes, was the answer but the explanation would be far too much and she was already discussing more to him than she intended. She knew that Sinbad did not have a good history with the concept of war given how it had affected his life. It was something she wasn't all that comfortable discussing herself._

 _Sensing the sudden change in atmosphere Sinbad smiled "Never mind, come on hurry up and eat so we can get going."_

" _Right..."_

* * *

" _Sinbad..." Sakura whined "Can we go back now, it's dark out already."_

" _Yeah just one more stop then we'll go back, I'm sure you'll like it."_

* * *

 _Sinbad took her to another store though sh wasn't too pleased since she thought they were done with shopping, she didn't want anything. Unless there was a place she could buy ninja weapons she wasn't interested. Of course she would have to go searching for a weapons store on her own as not to alert the others and have them ask questions like why she was buying weapons._

 _They were actually in a extravagant store that sold items and trinkets like jewlry, ornaments and statues, everything in the shelves seemed to glitter and shine with the afternoon sunset._

" _This is interesting, looking for more items to make you shine?" Sakura asked jokingly_

 _Sinbad shook his head "Nah, we're here for you."_

" _Huh?" Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion as she watched Sinbad look over at the shelves and display cases.  
_

" _You're always working so hard at the company but you accept any payment for it" Sinbad explained continuing to browse "You've only ever bought things like clothes and other essentials but after you got everything you stopped spending anything all together."_

 _Sakura looked at Sinbad with furrowed brows "Well it's not like I'm extravagant; I tend to make do. Besides it doesn't matter that I don't get paid, after all I'm not really an employee. I'm only a temporary assistant that's sort of just there-also," Sakura felt her face break out into a smile "Having somewhere to stay while I'm here, not being alone in this world is payment enough."_

 _A lump formed in his throat after she said that, her words touched him. Sinbad honestly thought she was too good to be true at times, like she was the most unique person in the world. Someone who was truly genuine._

" _Well," Sinbad trailed turning back to the cases "I still think you deserve some kind of reward for everything you've done so pick anything you like!"_

 _In the end however after looking Sakura said she didn't want anything, the trinkets were not only beautiful but extremely expensive some of them were lined with gold, others had precious gems placed in them adding to the value-never mind that some of them were pure metal which was already pricy. Which was why Sakura lied and told Sinbad that nothing caught her interest; she had actually nearly fallen over for this hair piece; called Violet dream. It had these three leave like structures that were light purple and this gold boarder around it, at the centre connecting the three was a near violet coloured pearl with three gold rings around it. Honestly when she saw it Sakura had subconsciously touched her hair that had grown passed her shoulders now barely touching her collar bone, she hadn't found the time to cut it._

" _Really nothing?" asked Sinbad sounding disappointed._

' _If he saw how much that thing cost he wouldn't look like that,' she thought_

" _Okay fine, just wait outside I've got my eye on something too. I'll catch up in a bit."_

* * *

 _A cool breeze blew across the city and Sakura felt a shiver. It was really cold some nights-though nothing compared to Imuchakk. All Sakura wanted to do what go back and return to her bed before she would have to wake up the next day and return to work. She looked up at the sky, the sun was nearly gone now and night would've fallen by the time they get back. Though she had to admit it wasn't half as bad she expected it to be-spending all that time with Sinbad without any obligations or responsibilities. They were able to focus on each other and not some kind of task that needed to be done, it had been a while since she had felt the way she did today. She was always working even back at home, she never really stopped._

 _Sinbad came walking out with a small bag and a satisfied smile on his face "Alright let's go back."_

 _Sakura nodded and followed after him._

* * *

" _It's gotten really long..." Sakura muttered sighing, back when she was a child she had always wanted to have really long hair in order to impress Sasuke and she was in competition with Ino, who had also grown her hair and it was much longer than hers but then Sakura discovered that a lot of things were much more important than looks; the importance of inner beauty and putting into consideration the people around you and finding ways not to inconvenience people; how to stand on your own two feet and stop depending on others-much of these she had ignored for so long but she was trying her best to make up for it. Her long hair was a hazard to deal with and it got in the way a lot so she kept it short, for her short hair was like a symbol of her strength but it was growing now and she didn't like it._

 _Reaching for the pair of scissors on her barren dresser she took a piece of her hair and was about to cut it when there was a knock at the door._

" _Come in," Sakura called_

 _Sinbad opened the door, it creaked softly. He looked over at Sakura sitting in front of the mirror with a pair of scissors in her hands._

 _He frowned "Are you going to cut your hair?"_

 _Sakura nodded turning back to the mirror "Yeah, it's gotten longer than I'm use to."_

 _Sinbad sighed "That's too bad; I think long hair looks good on you."_

" _Well I think it makes me look weak." Sakura stated coldly all of a sudden, the words blurted out with no thought._

" _You really think so?" Sinbad asked unfazed by her tone, leaning against the wall holding one hand behind his back._

" _Yes, every time I look at myself in the mirror like this, I see my old self." Sakura muttered feeling a pain in her chest "The worst version of me."_

" _Wish I could've met her." Sinbad said making Sakura look at him questioningly "I would've told her it doesn't matter what length her hair is because she'll always have those beautiful emerald green eyes that enchant and the same compassion for others and be the same person who I'll forever be grateful for helping me reach my goals."_

 _Sakura felt like her cheeks were on fire at this point, she looked down at her hands that were clutching the scissors tightly._

" _Well...it's still a pain to manage." Sakura said quickly_

 _Walking over to her side Sinbad brought up a bag from behind him and held it out "Perhaps this'll help."_

 _Taking the bag and taking a glance inside Sakura gasped when she pulled out a display case with a violet coloured hair pin, the same one that had caught her eye at the store but how did...?_

 _Sakura looked up at Sinbad with wide eyes while a huge grin spread across his face "I saw you looking at it and I kinda just got the feeling you wanted it."_

" _But..."_

 _His expression then turned stern "Listen Sakura, you say that me letting you stay here is already payment enough but the truth is I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done so far. So don't feel obligated to hold back, if you want something all you have to do is say so and I promise. What you said today really disturbed me, you're not just_ _ **here**_ _, you're with us, with me; so please don't ever say that again."_

" _Sinbad..."_

* * *

"Sinbad..." Sakura murmured; her eyes fluttering open slowly she was met with an incredibly bright starry sky; looking around there were little red orbs floating around producing light. It all came back to her; the dungeon in the sky, the harpies, the plant, the power of Beleth. She felt something in her hand and found the key she took from the plant.

" _Have you awakened my king?"_

"Beleth," Sakura sighed in relief "What happened?"

" _You defeated that monster using my djinn equip, I was surprised since I haven't yet told you about it."_

"Care to explain right now?" Sakura asked rubbing her eyes and then she felt something sticky and wet on her face, when she looked she realised it was blood. Blood that had run down her eyes, what was this exactly?

" _You forced a djinn equip, it's the final stage of your power as a metal vessel user. You are able to call on all of my powers using djinn equip but you were severely weakened due to your overuse of magoi, I was surprised though, you were able to produce that vast amount so quickly."_

"Think I can thank my chakra control for that, it's similar in a way."

" _Well either way I would advise against using djinn equip again until you're able to control it properly. It takes practice."_

Sakura nodded wiping her eyes of blood, before sending chakra coursing through her body to relieve some of the aches, pain and wounds.

A few minutes later Sakura stood up, holding the key she had captured in her hand. The dream of the past still lingered in her mind; it had all happened; Sakura never really touched her hair after that until the night she left them.

She stood up rubbing the back of her head stopping short of the bun which her gift from Sinbad held together.

'After this, I'm defiantly cutting my hair,'

* * *

Sakura stood in front of the gate of gold which happened to be the stone tablet at the beginning of the dungeon. When Beleth questioned how this could possibly be the gate as it wasn't made of gold Sakura explained.

"It said 'gate of gold' not 'golden gate'; also I picked something up in this dungeon-nothing is as it seems. If you're not careful you'll miss what's right in front of you; Also, it said listen to the wind and return to the beginning. Well the beginning for me would be here."

Walking around behind the stone tablet Sakura discovered a key hole in the shape of a heart; Sakura smiled. Sakura brought it up to the stone and it fit perfectly. She took a step back as the tablet began to shine and then...turn to gold before a bright light sucked her in and she welcomed it knowing what was next.

* * *

"Kukuku...well this is certainly interesting, a cut little girl has conquered that which even the most skilful soldiers could not well done."

Sakura stared up at the giant blue djinn, this time it was a female with ears and tail of a leopard; white wings, she had dark blue hair and blue eye and wore a long white robe. The room she was surrounded in was another one of the isle's but it was much larger, out in the open but with a large canopy made of marble around it with pillars holding it up, treasure decorating every part of this isle, gold and silver as far as the eye could see but she was hardly interested in anything other than what was right in front of her.

"I am Sitri, djinn of Amity and happiness. How do you do?"

A red mark appeared on Sakura's forehead "Don't ask me those kinds of questions right now; I've just about had it with your place and would like to get out of here before something else tries to kill me perhaps a monster made of clouds?"

Sitri gave a light hearted laugh "Oh really? Well I think a change of scenery is in order anyway so what do you say we leave?"

Holding out her hand Sakura showed the mirror "First things first,"

The female djinn snapped her fingers and a shard appeared "Here you are my king."

Sakura felt like her spirits were lifted as she watched another part of the mirror fill. With her resolve she was sure it wouldn't be long before she returned. She just had to be patient.

"Well now shall we depart my king?"

 **There I hope you all enjoyed it, I told myself I was going to finish this chapter before my birthday and since it's literally in a few minutes now I can say PHEW I MADE IT. I'll start on the next chapter as soon as I can however there are also other stories that need my attention so be patient.**

 **Don't forget to review**


	9. Captured and freeing

**Hello everyone, sorry for the long wait on this chapter but I was experiencing a bit of writers block with this one anyway I hope you like it and thanks for all the reviews I can't believe I'm already in the 100. THANK YOU.**

* * *

When Sakura had captured Beleth, he had granted her the knowledge on the dungeons, what they were as well as djinns and the energy known as magoi to wield it but this new world still held many concepts that Sakura was either unaware of or just barely coming to understand and after conquering Sitri's dungeon it became apparent to her just how important that kind of knowledge; she had to know...everything; about djinn, about rukh, magic, the looking glass, magi; everything for ignorance was not going to be her friend when the world would suddenly make her a victim of one of its calamities. If there was a way to use this to her advantage she would learn everything she could. Beleth along with her new djinn Sitri were the perfect resources to start with.

One of her biggest interests was the djinn equip she had previously performed.

Her injuries were far more severe than she first thought; according to Beleth it was because she had exhausted her magoi to a dangerous limit having unleashed far too much.

" _It's odd that you can even us magoi" said Sitri through her vessel_

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked lying on one of the many bags of gold; she began healing her wounds so that she could hurry up and leave this place. She had honestly seen enough of the forest. "Beleth said that it's an energy everyone has inside of them."

" _That might to be true but magoi is the energy generated by the rukh in this world and being from a different world and having a completely different kind of energy that flows through your body, well I don't understand how you are able to use magoi."_

" _I understand why you are so confused Sitri," Beleth then said_

"Well I don't! What exactly are rukh?" Sakura asked, her ears perked, eager to hear the answers

 _Sitri replied to her "Well the rukh are the main source of magoi in this world and its natural phenomenon. The development of events outside a person's control or 'fate' as you humans would put it."_

"Oh..." Sakura said slowly feeling her wounds begin to slowly close up and vanish "So the rukh is the natural flow in this world. Something that you can't go against..."

" _That's correct," said Beleth "When life is born and lives within the flow, to move forward one must accept the rukh's guidance though there are those who are against it however in your case..."_

" _Because you are not from this world you can't do that," Sitri interjected "The rukh in this world has no influence on you, therefore you are responsible for your own decisions here and that can be dangerous depending."_

" _You are the one who will choose your fate my king," Beleth began "Everyone else's is set but you are the interloper of this world, you are unbound and unattached."_

"Are the rukh those golden birds I keep seeing?" Sakura asked after a short period of time; she recalled seeing those things quite a few times especially when she was with Sinbad.

" _Yes," Beleth said "They are my king,"_

" _You must be very special yourself if you are able to see them."_

Sakura shrugged before moving her arms and stretching her legs trying to feel for anymore signs of pain. "That's nice, but all I don't really care about being special here. All I really want is to get back home and I'll do whatever I have to in order to do that even if it means putting my life on the line a hundred times over."

" _I wonder though," Sitri began "If you died in this world, where would you go?"_

" _SITRI!" Beleth yelled_

" _What?"_

Though Sitri's tone was not one that held any signs of seriousness or true thought; it was something that would stick with Sakura. A sense of dread; even in death she would not belong to this world therefore where would she go?

"What's the point?" she finally asked after some hard dwelling "What is the point in creating something like the Looking glass?"

" _I don't know king," said Sitri "Even we have limited knowledge on that magic tool."_

Sighing Sakura stood up before grabbing two large sacks of treasure "So tell me more about djinn equip."

With every piece of information her djinns were willing to share with her, Sakura took it all in and stored it in her memory in hopes of using it another time. The mention of its power and the fact that she would be able to wield it gave her a new ray of hope. This world was filled with dangers and many would probably stand in the way of her quest, and while she had her own power, gaining a new strength to overcome all that which would stand in her way was a lot of comfort when you are trapped in a place you don't feel you belong.

'I'll get through this,' Sakura told herself

" _I take it you're use to a tough time?" Sitri asked_

The pinkette nodded "I guess you could say that, I've also gotten use to it."

* * *

Several days had passed and Sakura finally made it out of the forest only to find she now had a desert to cross, she was more or less fully recovered but Beleth had advised her to take at least another three days off to rest before she decided to take off and capture another dungeon. Although she had listened to her djinn; she was a little more than irritated having to deal with the desert heat but she supposed it was better than putting her life on the line in another dungeon-not that she wouldn't be doing that very soon.

Sakura's skin was burned from the desert sun, sweat dripped down her forehead' the good news was that she didn't have to carry all those sacks of treasure that was brought out of the dungeon with her. She discovered an interesting dungeon item that according to Sitri was called a vortex bag it was a tiny sack that appeared to be able to fit only a few coins in but Sitri explained that the space inside of it was infinite meaning Sakura was able to store all of the treasure inside. That was one load off but infinite treasure wasn't doing much for Sakura in terms of dehydration-unless of course she found an inn in the middle of the desert, for food all Sakura had was some fruit she had collected from the forest before she left. She started off at a speedy chakra pace after just getting out of the forest but as time passed she was doing her best to conserve her energy, it wasn't that she was tired but she didn't know just how far she would have to travel before she got out of the desert.

Sitri had pointed out that if Sakura knew how to use her djinn equip she would be able to travel great distances at an incredible speed.

" _ **But since you don't-**_

" _EXACTLY SO SHUT UP"_

Another djinn added was useful in terms of gathering more information on the world and gaining another power but there was also a downside, Sitri had absolutely no filter when she spoke and that seemed to annoy not only Sakura but Beleth as well, they would often start an argument when they were talking.

"I swear you guys-

Sakura stopped walking and looked over in the distance, appearing over one of the sand dunes, she saw something moving...and it was either a person or a very vivid mirage.

'Has the sun gotten to me and I'm finally hallucinating?' she wondered as she watched the figure continue to run straight towards her. Squinting her eyes, Sakura started to move closer but then she heard the sounds of a couple of angry voices shouting, she began running further to figure meeting halfway but whoever this person was didn't look where he was going because all Sakura saw was a flash of red hair knocking her smack first in her gut so hard-she fell to the ground in pain before her vision blurred.

'What the hell...?'

"GET HIM" she heard someone shout

"YOU'RE IN TROUBLE NOW."

"BOSS THERE'S ANOTHER PERSON OVER HERE."

"Bring her along; we could do with extra profit!"

With that she blacked out.

* * *

When Sakura finally woke up, she felt as if she had been hit by one of Tsunade's 'light' punches, she sat up and heard the sound of metal clinking and a weight on her ankles and wrists. Gasping Sakura hurriedly sat up to look around, she was in a cage in a caravan moving along the desert, there was chains wrapped around her ankle and wrists and her djinn metal vessels and the Looking glass along with the rest of her belongings were gone.

"What happened?" Sakura asked frowning deeply

"These slave merchants took you after I accidently knocked you unconscious." A solemn voice replied

Sakura's head whizzed to her side, she saw in the far corner of the caravan a boy with brilliant red hair and red eyes, he was a few years younger than Sakura. She saw that he had been chained heavier than her, there were thicker shackles around his wrists and ankles and the chain was short so he couldn't move it around much.

Outside Sakura noted a few men on horses riding beside the wagon, she did not like the feeling she was getting from them, obviously though considering that they were slave merchants.

'And they took all my possessions,' Sakura hissed in her head, she was just about ready to break out of these chains and beat the crap out of each and every one of these men. There were only about ten anyway. She looked back at the young boy.

"What's your name?" Sakura asked her face softening

"Yaqut," he murmured softly

"I'm Sakura," the pinkette replied "So, can you tell me where we're going?"

"Probably back to their headquarters where they'll get us ready for auctioning" Yaqut said keeping his eyes down. One of the men suddenly banged on the cage with their sword looking at Sakura.

"Looks like she's awake boys!"

"Maybe we can take a pit stop and have some fun!"

There was a holler of laughter from everyone before a gruff voice spoke

"Now, now boys no need to lower the value on an exotic like this. We'll see after we have her examined."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, examined? "For what?"

"To find out if you're a virgin." Yaqut said glaring at the men as they resumed looking ahead.

Sakura shivered "How delightful...honestly this world's so sickening at times."

"What?" Yaqut looked at her confused now

Drawing her knees up to her chest Sakura rested her chin on them "It's just as a said."

The concept of slavery in this world truly lit a spark of anger within her that continued to burn and right now while she could've easily broken from her bonds and escape she wasn't going to, not just yet...instead she decided to make conversation.

"So Yaqut, you ran into me pretty hard."

Looking down Yaqut opened his mouth "Yes well, I was kinda in a hurry trying to get away from these slave merchants. I escaped you see so they were chasing me through the desert and then..."

Sakura sighed "You bumped into me I'm sorry to have slowed you down."

"I should've been more alert." Yaqut said clenching his fists

Narrowing her eyes Sakura whispered softly "You're rather strong aren't you? I felt like I had been hit head on by a bull."

The red headed boy seemed hesitant to speak after that observation but after some time he opened his mouth "It's because I'm a Fanalis."

Sakura cocked her head to the side confused "What's a Fanalis?"

Yaqut looked down "We're-

"They're beasts that's what they are!" one of the slaver merchants said looking at the two through the bars "Incredibly powerful strength, super humans that's what and fetch for quite a high price! This little bastards gonna fetch quite a pretty penny once we sell him off then he'll be someone else's problem!"

Sakura gave a hateful glare at the man before turning back to Yaqut who looked like he was about to attempt an attack.

"Don't try anything kid, not even a fully grown Fanalis can break through those chains!"

"Lady Madaura's gonna be happy to add another Fanalis to her collection."

"Yeah and I'll bet she'll pay just as much for a beauty with pink hair, she's always into those exotic looking kids..."

Sakura tuned out the men and turned back to Yaqut "Don't worry" Sakura's voice was soft and reassuring like the smile on her face "Everything will be alright, I promise."

"I doubt that though..."

Scooting closer Sakura placed her hand on the young boy's shoulder, her eyes shone with determination "I promise. Just leave it to me."

Pulling back Sakura sat right next to Yaqut now before chuckle humourlessly making the Fanalis look at her like she had lost her mind.

"You snapped quickly."

"I was just thinking about this guy I know, I was wondering what he would say if he found out I got myself captured like this?"

When she thought back, there were times when she and Sinbad argued about her wellbeing. Despite the fact that was a hundred time stronger than any of the men he was always telling her how dangerous it was for a girl to be doing things like carrying all those heavy loads of cargo or going out alone at night when the streets were crawling with predators and there was even a time he mentioned her being kidnapped-oh if he saw her now he would probably be laughing saying how he told her something like this could happen. Of course she couldn't help but be touched by his sincere gesture-even if she thought he was a bit sexist in her opinion; well he called it being a concerned gentlemen,

"Oh the reaction I'd get." Sakura sighed shaking her head of the memories.

Yaqut stared at Sakura "You're strange."

She smiled at him and Yaqut felt his cheeks tint red before he turned his head to the sides "Stupid, this isn't anything to smile about."

* * *

A few hours passed and it was nearing sunrise but they never stopped until they reached a giant stone structure; it was carved to resemble a huge building. There were a few people lying around sleeping-most likely the guards. When they were brought into the huge structure they were roughly dragged out by their chains and lead through a maze of carved out stone halls lit with torches. Sakura made a mental map in her mind as they continued to walk through it. They were taken to what appeared to be an underground prison, there were many people gathered in these cells, chains binding their hands, feet and some also had collars.

"Get in!"

They were pushed into one of the cells, Sakura watched as the men walked away "Well be back for you later girl."

Sakura leaned against the wall looking back at all the terrified prisoners that were going to be turned into slaves. The atmosphere was so thick with despair it was suffocating. Sakura was already formulating a plan, there wasn't that much too it though just break out; fight the guards, free the slaves, get her belongings back.

"What are you thinking?" the Fanalis asked

"Oh nothing..."

"If you do anything," Yaqut whispered to her "They're going to do something you're really not going to enjoy before they sell you off."

Sakura seemed unaffected by the clear warning "Oh don't worry, I've got everything under control."

* * *

"Alright; all of you girls line up hurry!"

There were several whimpers that were heard and the clanging of chains as a few young girls lined up, small hiccups escaping their mouths along with frightened tears. Apparently Sakura wasn't the only one who was about to be examined to assess her 'value'.

"W-What are they gonna do to us?"

"I-I, heard that those girls that aren't assessed as virtuous will-will be-be served to the men-

"What?!"

"I'm scared!"

There were several men surrounding them with lecherous looks on their faces; they were meant as a means of precaution as there were a couple of 'tools' in this particular area of the place. However Sakura could tell that they were just here for a free show and to get their pick of the girls that were unlucky enough to come back with negative results. There was one man standing-who she assumed was doing the 'testing' and he gestured for the men to bring the first girl up.

"NO STOP IT STOP! NOOOOOOO" the girl cried attempting to kick free from their grasp.

'Sickening,'

Sakura watched stoically as the girl struggled against the two holding her, they were about to lift up her dress when everyone heard a thud.

"What happened?!"

"She's out cold!"

The entire room fell silent as they turned to the pink haired girl that appeared to have passed out.

"Heh must've been frightened unconscious."

"Yeah, must be a virgin."

"Hey wake up bitch!"

Several footsteps and there were five men towering over Sakura; one of them drew back their foot to kick her awake when he suddenly fell over clutching his foot in excruciating pain.

"MY FOOT IT'S BROKEN; IT'S BROKENNNNN!"

The rest of the men in the room gathered around to inspect their fallen colleague-and that's when she attacked.

"Gotcha!"

The other girls watched in awe and disbelief as they watched the pink haired girl leap to her feet and instantly attack two of the men, kicking them right through the wall. When the others came at her with their swords drawn, intent to kill she held a calm demeanour. Her strength was bewildering as she began stretching her arms beyond the point of the chains and they snapped as if the metal was the fragile stem of a flower easily picked.

Sakura broke the chains off her wrist, now holding them both in her hands she used them to block the sword coming from above aimed directly at her head.

"I'm gonna kill you, you little-

"Shut up," Sakura pushed the man back as if he weighed nothing and watched as she sent him flying into two more of the men. She glanced over her shoulder at the remaining six who were watching her with heavy caution. She looked at her wrists to see slight bruises from the chains; to think that people were forced to wear these things like animals-not even animals deserved this kind of treatment.

"Where are the keys to the chains?" Sakura asked in a deadly, calm tone.

They held up their swords towards Sakura as she took a threatening step forward making the remaining men to take a step back.

"A-As if we'd tell you!"

Everyone watched as the ground beneath Sakura's feet cracked as easily as shattering glass, "Where are the keys and the belongings you stole from me while you're at it."

They remained silent, though Sakura could see them trembling; she narrowed her eyes and hissed. "Due to recent events I am not in a good mood and looking at your faces only infuriates me further so I'd suggest you get on with it or else..."

Then she heard it.

Several heavy footsteps heading in the direction of the room, Sakura watched as more armed men rushed into the room surrounding Sakura and the girls who appeared very fearful.

"Don't worry," Sakura said turning to them with a smile "I'll get you out of here."

"Heh how are you gonna do that in pieces you insolent brat!?"

"That's right, you're surrounded!"

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the entire room was packed with men surrounding the entire room with swords pointed directly at her and there were most likely even more outside of the room and it seemed that they were all confident they'd be able to hold out against her together. However what they weren't aware of was that while she was outnumbered, Sakura's job was just made a whole lot easier.

"All this fuss over one brat." A gruff voice said

Through the crowd emerged a large, tub of a man with dark hair and eyes; he also had a bushy beard, he was dressed very extravagantly compared to the rest and Sakura could only conclude that this was the leader of the slave drivers.

"What happened exactly?"

"Boss, this girl took out a few of the guards and broke her chains."

The boss looked at them with fury "You mean to tell me this barely old enough to be considered for servicing girl was the one who sent the men I saw knocked out in the passage way through the wall?"

"Y-Yes sir, we saw her do it!" one of the men said flaying his arms around "She's as strong as a Fanalis!"

"And yet she isn't one so stop your blubbering and take care of her!" the boss ordered before starring at Sakura, his eyes raked over her form hungrily as he licked his lips "Well feisty does make for more entertainment in the bed chambers."

Sakura glowered at him "So you're the leader of this group of slave traders? Well then this makes it all the more easy."

"Girl you better watch that mouth-don't worry it'll be put to good use soon."

Shifting, Sakura crouched down, her fists raised as she stood in a fighting stance "We'll see about that you perverted bastards."

"NOW"

They all rushed towards her, Sakura smirked before drawing her hands together and making several hand signs "Shadow clone jutsu!"

Three more Sakura's appeared from a cloud of smoke before they all leapt in four different directions and began attacking. The men-despite being the ones holding the weapons discovered the hard way that they were outmatched, Sakura's speed allowed her to easily doge the attacks-as a medical ninja Tsunade had emphasised the importance of being able to avoid your enemies attacks, for in the medic was injured who would be there to tend to the team? Right now Sakura was very grateful for those lessons as she avoided attacks and countered with her own.

'After dealing with those monsters in the dungeons, an army of men is nothing.' Sakura thought as she sent another couple of men flying through the wall and to the outside-the entire room was close to being reduced to nothing.

* * *

Only minutes later there were unconscious men lying about all over the floor and a victorious Sakura standing among the bodies; her clones vanished with a poof leaving her alone but proud. Her attention then turned to the so called boss who was now left cowering in disbelief.

"H-How is this possible? Su-Such power-it's

"Impossible right," Sakura said with a light chuckle, a sinister smirk on her face "Well, I went easy. If I wanted to-I'd have crushed all the bones in your men's bodies so that they'd be paralysed for the rest of their lives..."

"Why you-I-I will send word to Lady Madaura of you, she will make sure to turn you into a slave just you watch! No one can stand up against-

"Send word of me?" Sakura said making him tense "That word gonna come from beyond the grave?"

She waited a moment to see if this man had anymore smart comments to make but he was clearly at a loss for words."

"Now, I'm going to ask again-where are the keys to the chains and the belongings that were stolen from me when I was taken?"

"Th-The keys and everything else is in my office-

"Then you'd better lead the way." Sakura said glaring at him "And I'd begin thinking of a new carrier choice; because if by fates unfortunate hand should I see you again and find out you are still a slave trader, I'll demolish you."

* * *

After getting the keys and her belongings back Sakura went down to the holding cells along with the rest of the girls and began helping to unchain everyone. At first there was a mass of confusion and terror as they had heard the commotion Sakura made when she was fighting.

"W-What's happening?"

Sakura smiled as she opened up the gate, Yaqut looked at Sakura curiously "What did you do?"

She continued to beam; her headband placed firmly on her head and her hair held together by her hair pin; she held up the bag of keys "Nothing much, just got my stuff back and a little souvenir."

Everyone stared at her shock as she unchained Yaqut and handed him a few keys "Hurry and help me unchain everyone, after that I want all of you to gather outside."

* * *

After every man, women and child was unchained they gathered outside of the slave merchants headquarters and looked at Sakura who was standing in front of everyone, she held out her small pouch from Sitri's dungeon.

"Alright, I want you all to form a line."

"Why?" Yaqut questioned, he seemed to be the only one among the previous

Instead of answering Sakura threw the small bag upside down and watched as thousands of silver and gold coins glittering in the sunlight fell out of the bag forming a hill as tall as Sakura behind her. She then tied up the bag and made an announcement.  
"From this day on, you are no longer slaves and therefore are no longer allowed to consider yourselves as someone else's property! Your lives belong to you and you are free to do with it what you desire! I want freedom for every single one of you but freedom costs so for now I'll do what I can to cover that expense, everyone line up!"

No one lined up just yet, first there was a couple of claps heard and then a loud round of applause from everyone. She saw the rukh fluttering around all of the people and could tell that they were all somehow lighter, as if a heavy weight of worry had been demolished.

As Sakura handed out her treasure everyone she gave offered their sincerest thanks and gratitude towards her. There was an odd bubbling feeling inside of her that Sakura found very pleasant, she'd consider it the joy of helping others.

Sakura giggled as she continued to hand out

" _Well done, my king." Beleth praised "You are truly a miracle."_

" _Not bad," Sitri said in a pleased voice "You're quite the king's candidate, to be honest I had my doubts at first but you're a very impressive girl my king."_

'Gee thanks,' Sakura said in softly

* * *

After she finished distributing most of the treasure she had captured Sakura was quick to say her goodbyes after suggesting that everyone move on away from this place. There was a town not too far from their current location so Sakura didn't think she was going to have to worry about these people anymore. They were free now; it was up to this world to decide their fates.

'May the rukh be merciful then,' Sakura silently prayed as she started walking towards the entrance/exit of the place.

"Hey wait!"

Sakura turned around and looked down at Yaqut.

"Yes?" she asked

"I-I'm going with you."

The pinkette took a step back in surprise "What, you can't."

The young Fanalis boy pulled a face at her "Why not, I know how to fight. I may not be as strong as you but I'm defiantly strong and I'll grow stronger!"

"Yaqut-

"Please!" he begged "I don't have anywhere to go and I've never met anyone like you before, please!"

Sakura's eyes softened, she reached out and gently ruffled the boy's hair "I'm really sorry but I can't take you with me, I'm on a mission that's very dangerous. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I put someone else's life in danger."

"But I'm a Fanalis! I'm strong, I can handle-

"I don't doubt your strength," Sakura promised holding up her hand "However you still can't go with me, I'm walking my own path and you need to do the same."

"What about other slave traders?" Yaqut asked quickly, his tone getting desperate now "Everyone wants to capture Fanalis as slaves because of our abilities! I don't have anywhere else to go unlike everyone else! Are you really going to leave me all alone knowing that?"

Sakura felt her heart give a painful jolt as she looked into the boys blazing red eyes; "I'm sorry, really I am. This world is a cruel place but remember-that you have a place in it. So keep fighting and you'll be fine. Stay strong and stand your ground. Create a goal for yourself no matter what it may be and things will work out but if you stay with me you will never be able to find true happiness."

"But-

Sakura smiled before murmuring the mirror's spell.

 _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

 _Find those who have been scattered_

 _To retrieve that which has been shattered_

 _Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon_

 _Will help you mend what has been broken._

 _Permission from a king is required_

 _To achieve what is desired_

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece_

With one last glance at Yaqut she voiced a soft 'Goodbye'

And vanished from sight

* * *

Sakura sighed softly with relief looking directly in front of her "After all these months, I've finally found it."

A large tower standing at heights humans could only dream to reach an ominous green cloud of mist circling around it. All vegetation around this tower appeared withered, completely destroyed. There were also signs of dead animals lying about varying from birds, to larger creatures that would eat these small animals like wolves.

" _Seriously, the mirror transports us months in this deserted land and this is the result?" Sitri spoke "I don't like the looks of this dungeon."_

" _For once I agree with you." Beleth said "Perhaps we should retreat my king?"_

Sakura smirked "What are you saying Beleth, you want to abandon your king?"

" _Of course not!" Beleth said suddenly sounding flustered_

"Well good," Sakura's face held a strong determination "Then let's go onward; one step further to conquering another dungeon, one step further to home."

 **That's sadly all for now but don't worry I've already working on the next chapter so it'll hopefully be up soon.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	10. A new djinn, a new friend, an old memory

**Well here is the next chapter enjoy!**

When Sakura started her journey through this world, she was expecting things to be difficult but she believed her will and determination was enough to keep her going; now she wasn't so sure anymore. After an entire year passed, Sakura had found herself in the possession of three djinns. The first was the djinn of strength and discord Beleth, the second was the djinn of amity and happiness and then there was the third djinn that she was acquired a few short months ago...

* * *

" _And I thought Sitri's dungeon's pissed me off." Sakura said as she made another. The first thing Sakura saw when she opened her eyes in this dungeon were these strange plants that glowed many different colours and released this oddly sweet aroma that covered the entire place in coloured mist, there weren't any monsters and the land was pretty barren. There weren't any instructions like with Sitri's dungeon and there weren't as many obstacles as Beleth's dungeon so that was a plus. However Sakura wasn't willing to let her guard down just yet._

" _Of course with my luck anything can happen," Sakura muttered "If only I knew how to control my djinn equip fully then I'd be able to fly over this maze."_

 _The build of the maze was incredibly high so much so she couldn't see the end to it, the walls were made of some kind of stone and she had attempted to climb only to end up falling flat on her back, for whatever reason she wasn't able to get a firm grip on the wall with her chakra at all leaving her with no other option but walk through the maze._

' _I didn't think there would be a dungeon that I couldn't use chakra in.' Sakura thought feeling a bit nervous, for if this was going to be one of the rules of this dungeon she was at a great disadvantage._

" _I hate mazes."_

 _In fact Sakura didn't even realise it was a maze until after the first hour when she kept on taking all of these confusing turns and hitting dead ends. She just hoped that she found the right path that would lead her out of here and to the djinn._

 _The time that she had spent searching for this dungeon she also spent training herself. She wanted to be able to use her djinn equip in case of dire situations where her own power wasn't quite enough and the ability to fly would've been very useful in this situation. However Sakura still found some difficulty wielding a full body djinn equip, she was practicing with both Beleth and Sitri; she might have managed it before but she wasn't sure how._

* * *

"Here you go," said a woman with black hair came up to Sakura placing food from the tray in her hands on the table in front of her.

"Thank you." Sakura said before she started eating.

Sakura glanced at her reflection in the wooden mug, there she saw a sixteen year old girl with really short pink hair-instead of cutting it above her shoulders like before Sakura had cut her hair until it was above her neck, this was before her third dungeon and the conditions of where she was transported made it rather difficult to manage long hair. Since then, the hair pin that now hosted Sitri was pinned to her clothing of course her headband still stood proudly on top of her head. And then there was her new addition...

"Boy you sure were a pain," Sakura said softly glancing at the silver arm bracelet on her.

" _Really my king, I'm hurt."_

"Put a cork in your beak Stolas. It was a good thing I figured out how to get out of that maze of yours or I would've been trapped forever."

 _Sitri giggled "You only managed to get out because of your stomach!"_

Sakura blushed as she recalled everything.

* * *

" _ARGH I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE" Sakura screamed grabbing onto the ends of her hair "I'VE BEEN WALKING THROUGH THIS MAZE FOREVER AND IT'S LIKE IT NEVER ENDS."_

" _ **My king, please calm down." Beleth instructed**_

 _ **Sitri yawned "I'm not sure how much longer I can take wandering around this place either; too bad you can't fly huh king?"**_

" _SITRI IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SAY SOMETHING USEFUL I SUGGEST YOU SHUT UP BEFORE I SHOVE YOUR METAL VESSEL RIGHT UP SOME GUYS-_

" _ **My king!" Beleth gasped at his master's foul words**_

 _Sakura scoffed before she continued on, she was tired, hungry and thirsty and quite irritable. There were no signs of life anywhere-not even dungeon monsters, which right now was something she would've have mind seeing because it usually meant she was getting close to the goal._

 _Looking at the grounds there were all of these plants that were scattered alongside the maze._

' _I wonder if they are edible,' Sakura thought as her stomach growled again; swallowing hard Sakura stopped and reached out for one of the red plants, the smell of the plant was intoxicating, unlike anything Sakura had ever smelled before._

" _ **EW YOU'RE NOT SERIOUSLY GOING TO EAT THAT ARE YOU?" screamed Sitri**_

" _Just one..." Sakura trailed licking her lips 'It looks like a big fruit!'_

" _ **DISGUSTING"**_

 _But when Sakura pulled out the plant something odd happened, the mist in the air began to disappear and the other plants began to wither away. Sakura blinked a couple of times before rubbing her eyes. She looked up again and the walls were...different, they were as high, if fact they were no taller than a few metres now._

" _What the hell?" Sakura asked jumped up, she gasped when she saw it..._

* * *

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest "Stolas, the djinn of wisdom and venom."

The supposedly large maze that Sakura was trapped in was in fact a small one, only a few feet and far from endless but because of the strange mist the plants were producing it had messed with her senses and she wasn't any wiser about it. It made things in her perspective seem incredibly large when in fact they weren't, and it had neurologically affected her making her continuously go around in circles without realising; it was also the reason Sakura wasn't able to use her chakra to climb the walls; as she didn't realise her senses were messed up she wasn't aware that she was using an insufficient amount of chakra to climb that wall and thought it was the dungeons doing not her own.

* * *

 _A dark looking castle appeared out in the distance that Sakura had missed due to the effects of the mist. Sakura didn't waste any time in rushing towards the huge structure now more determined than ever to get out of the dungeon before it could play another trick on her. When she got closer she saw something odd. The entire castle appeared to be floating on the water in the middle of a large black lagoon._

" _ **Great, how you gonna pass over that?" asked Sitri**_

 _Sakura smirked as she began focusing her chakra to her feet "Not a problem."_

 _With a single step she began making her way towards the castle. There was nothing but eerie silence surrounding her but she didn't dare drop her guard. Sakura looked down at the dark, murky water; one thing was certain she wouldn't want to go swimming in this stream..._

" _ **She can walk on water?" Sitri asked shock in her voice**_

" _ **Our king has many special abilities." Beleth said**_

" _ **And I'm just hearing about this now?! I've been here for the past-**_

' _Something isn't right'_

" _Shh!" Sakura said stopping in right in the centre between the castle and the place where she had come from. Sakura's eyes looked around the water, checking for any signs of ripples but there were none; her eyes continued to dart around._

" _ **What is it?" Beleth asked**_

" _I feel like something's watching me..."_

" _ **Are you trying to freak me out?!" Sitri squealed**_

 _Sakura continued to look around the perimeter but there was no sign of any life, unfortunately she missed something dark from down below in the murky water but she figured it out when something swam to the surface knocked Sakura into the air._

 _She gasped in pain as something slashed diagonally across her right side from her shoulder down to her waist._

' _W-What the!?"_

 _Landing in the water with a painful slap to her back Sakura opened her eyes and began looking for what attacked her. She spotted something swimming around her making her turn before it headed right for her, her eyes went wide when she spotted a vile looking creature, it was pitch black, had a body made of razor sharp looking scales, a long snout, big yellow eyes of a serpent, and fangs protruding out of its mouth._

 _The beast charged at Sakura, swimming vigorously. Drawing back her fist Sakura waited until the creature was close enough before she delivered a powerful punch that sent it shooting downwards to the bottom of the lagoons floor before she began making her way to the surface._

' _SITRI'_

 _Calling on her djinn's power Sakura summoned a tornado of wind beneath her feet and controlled it to push her up to the surface. Standing on the water once again Sakura began looking down for the creature expecting it to make an appearance._

" _ **Why are you not running!?" exclaimed Sitri "Do you want to die!"**_

 _Sakura continued to be vigilant "Defeating the monsters in dungeons are usually the only way to proceed aren't they, I can't just leave."_

" _ **Oh I have a king who is a suicidal maniac!"**_

" _ **Sitri, there is much you still need to learn about our king."**_

' _HERE IT COMES"_

 _Sakura leapt into the air, twenty feet in the air before summoning Beleth's power; she gathered her magoi and then released it towards the beast, black flames in the form of a dragon fell down with full force effectively defeating it._

 _Sakura listened to the horrible wail to released before it fell, its upper body landing on the land where the castle stood. The body of the monster began turning gray, to stone. The pinkette watched carefully as the creature turned completely to stone and then cracked slowly starting at its head and the rest of its body following before it became nothing but dust in the wind leaving nothing behind but a single yellow stone._

 _Sakura picked it up and looked at it "This must be the key."_

 _Walking over to the castle Sakura held her side in pain feeling the warm blood run down her cold body. She was beginning to feel sick._

" _I'm poisoned," Sakura hissed removing her top revealing her black bra, she saw the gash was sizzling and burning, a kind of green tinge was beginning to take form._

" _Dammit."_

" _ **Are you alright?" Beleth asked in concern**_

" _ **Oh I'm sure she's just as fine as anyone who's been poisoned would be Beleth!"**_

" _ **I wish you would watch your mouth Sitri."**_

" _ **And I wish-**_

" _ENOUGH" Sakura shouted gripping her side tightly attempting to heal the wound, however poison wasn't something that would magically vanish by just using chakra to heal it but she was able to neutralise it._

 _When she wasn't feeling as numb Sakura began to make her way to the castle entrance. There was a gate of iron designed as ivy covering the entrance with a slot in the centre, the exact shape of the stone Sakura was holding._

 _With a shaking hand, breathing heavily Sakura brought it up to the slot and placed it in, she watched as the gate began to vanish, the castle now wide open for her to enter. The inside began to light itself revealing mountains of treasure, gold decorating every inch of the castle floors. Sakura didn't touch anything as she began searching around._

 _Where was the djinn?_

 _Sakura continued to explore the room until she found a single silver coloured bracelet sitting on the top of a pillar. Surrounding Sakura was gold and jewels of all kinds that glittered and shone but there wasn't a single sign of silver, expect for this bracelet._

' _I wonder...'_

 _Reaching forwards Sakura touched it, the second she did something surged within her and she pulled back, there was a massive forced that made her fall to her knees-that and the fact that she was dizzy from the poison._

 _There emerged the djinn, it was blue like all djinns with a third eye in the centre of its forehead, it had the appearance of a large owl, decorated by an array of ivy around its head and talons while all kinds of jewels were visibly lined up in a pattern on its wings and beak._

" _I am Stolas, djinn of wisdom and poison who is to become king?"_

 _Sakura coughed heavily felt blood fill her mouth, she spat it all out in a puddle in front of her before wiping her mouth then glaring up at the djinn._

" _That would be me!"_

 _Stolas looked down at her "Ah, but you are nothing more than a young girl on the verge of death. I highly doubt I can accept you as my king's candidate as you are going to die from that poison."_

" _W-What?" asked Sakura with wide eyes, she had come this far only to be rejected by this djinn as its king?_

" _Yes, I simply cannot accept a weak little human like yourself as my king, as the djinn of wisdom and poison I seek a king who is both cunning and sharp minded, not some girl who got through my dungeons by sheer luck."_

 _Sakura let out an angry growl before pushing herself to stand, she stomped her foot on the ground watching as she created a crater "YOU THINK I'D DIE FROM SUCH A WEAK POISON? YOU THINK THAT MONSTER WAS A CHALLENGE? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, I CONQUORED THIS DUNGEON AND YOU ARE NOW MY DJINN, I AM YOUR KING AND IF YOU DARE THINK OTHERWISE I WILL HAVE PROVE IT TO YOU A THOUSAND TIMES OVER IF I HAVE TO."_

 _Stolas stared at Sakura "You would dare challenge me? You are the one who is seeking my power; it is my decision whether or not I will give it to you."_

 _Sakura narrowed her eyes "As if, your power isn't what I truly want from you. What I want is the shard of this mirror that I have earned by making it through this crappy place."_

 _Though Sakura had struggled at the very beginning with this dungeon and would've admitted to have made it through the maze via sheer luck and her hunger her pride had been wounded and she would not accept it under any circumstance._

" _So you are not from here?"_

 _Sakura rolled her eyes putting on a strong face "Nothing get's pass you does it oh great djinn of wisdom? Tell me if I am such a weakling how is it that I've already attained two djinns?"_

" _W-What?"  
_

 _Smirking Sakura held out her hand "BELETH."_

 _Black flames shot out from her hand with an intense heat_

" _SITRI"_

 _Through the same hand the black flames vanished to be replaced by a tornado coming out of Sakura's hand. Stolas seemed entranced now._

 _When the djinns power vanished Sakura stood firmly and looked up at Stolas holding up her fist at it "My name is Sakura Haruno, a proud kunoichi from the village Hidden in the leaves and your king! YOU HEAR ME, I AM YOUR KING AND NOTHING YOU SAY WILL CHANGE THAT"_

 _Stolas had fallen silent as he looked at the young girl before spreading his wings wide it was the width of the entire room, he bowed his owl head down eyes closed down._

" _You have passed the final test, by showing strength and a will stronger than any man. I humbly accept the Sakura Haruno as my king."_

 _After Stolas said that the pain from the wound that was inflicted on Sakura's body faded, the poison gone though still leaving the wound-not that she wouldn't be able to cure it._

* * *

'Yup you were a pain Stolas,' Sakura grinned then 'However I got you and that's all that matters to me' she looked at the looking glass mirror proudly; the top of the frame was already complete, with just five pieces. This made Sakura wander how many djinns there actually are but she didn't bring that question up yet.

'What I need to focus on now if finding that other djinn.' Sakura thought as she looked around the near empty inn. When Sakura had used the looking glass, she was brought to a remote area in the mountains, after travelling a little ways she discovered a place unlike any she had seen before, an entire country created at the base of a mountain, though small it was amazing. Made up of several walls around it and also inside, in the streets there was no sign of poverty, people walked around wearing gold and silver. Sakura discovered that the name of this place was Sasan, the land of purification. And while it was a sight to behold, she also found that it did not welcome outsiders warmly. The first time she came here she was taken to the visitors lodgings by a knight; they had armour of a bright green-blue colour and carried a large spear. The people of Sasan seemed to have a very strict religious uprising and they did not welcome those outside of that religion.

'Ever heard of diversity?' Sakura wandered

Sasan's practice was a big problem for Sakura because it meant that she wasn't able to roam around as she wished. She would sometimes leave to go search the mountains for a dungeon but after a while Sakura was able to place a safer bet on the fact that there was a dungeon in the area but it was already captured; it wasn't a hundred percent certain but Sakura didn't think she could rule out the possibility. She still went out of Sasan to look around now and then and was going to take a longer journey but then she met him...

* * *

 _Sakura clicked her tongue in annoyance and leaned back on the chair she was sitting on, she had searched the mountain areas for three days now and there was no sign of a djinn or the next shard anywhere._

' _There has to be a dungeon here somewhere.' Sakura thought pouting, it occurred to her that she might have to travel further next time she went out and perhaps continue on the outside, the dungeons before were further than the looking glass initially brought her so it wasn't out of question. Though it meant she wouldn't be able to return to the inn; course it wasn't like she was here for a vacation anyway._

' _Okay so tomorrow I'll stock up on-_

' _Psst'_

" _Huh?" Sakura started looking around for the source of the low hiss_

" _Miss, under here."_

 _Sakura glanced down under the table and nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw a young man-couldn't have been that much older than her, crouching down right under her table, he was obviously from Sasan given his hairstyle and clothing._

" _What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you under the table?" Sakura asked glaring at him_

" _P-Please miss, I just want to talk to you-_

" _You better get out from under that table or I'm going to-_

" _Please!" he begged "I-I just want to talk to you! Only a minute or two then I'll go!"_

 _Sakura looked at him suspiciously before noting the desperate look on his face; she had to admit it she found it rather cute. In a helpless puppy kind of way._

" _Fine," Sakura said rolling her eyes "Why don't you take a seat-_

" _I-I can't, she might see me."_

" _Who?"_

" _Her!" he said pointing to the onyx haired women who was serving some of the few customers._

" _Oh...I get it; you're not allowed to be here." Sakura stated_

 _He nodded "Yes, we're forbidden from having contact with outsiders but I come here to listen to the stories of the outside world so please!"_

" _Fine...I guess first though what's your name? Mine's Sakura."_

" _I am Mystras." he said sounding rather bashful before smiling "So um, are you a traveller miss Sakura?"_

 _The pinkette laughed softly "Just call me Sakura, I'm not that old and besides it looks like you're older than me."_

" _Uh-um right." Mystras said while blushing "S-Sakura,"_

 _The pinkette nodded satisfied "So you wanted to ask me some questions?"_

 _Mystras nodded vigorously "Yes! Could you please tell me everything you know about the outside world?"_

" _Ah, where to start..._

* * *

Sakura ended up befriending the odd Sasan boy named Mystras; he would sneak into the inn every day to meet her. She told him her stories of her recent travels. About Imuchakk and Reim; her struggles when she was captured by slaver merchants, but in all of those she never once mentioned the dungeons until one day...

* * *

" _You're so amazing Sakura!"_

 _Sakura turned a little red and scratched the back of her head "Not really."_

" _Even though you're a girl, you're able to travel alone and fight for yourself, amazing." Mystras beamed softly while on the lookout for anyone who might catch him and throw him out; he hadn't been caught yet. "How are you so strong?"_

 _Sakura smiled "Well that's a little too complicated for me to explain, but I do have this."_

 _Holding out her hand, the hair pin on Sakura's clothing began to glow as she produced a small tornado in the palm of her hand holding it out in front of Mystras's face._

" _Wow..."_

" _This is the power of Sitri, one of my djinns."_

" _What is a djinn?" asked Mystras completely enchanted as the whirlwind vanished_

" _Djinn's are these spirits that lie within tall towers called dungeons. Every dungeon varies and each holds its own power and treasures...but also its own danger that takes countless lives of men who dare to venture inside but there are those who have conquered it..."_

 _Mystras stared at Sakura, gaping and entranced._

' _Oh boy I'm starting to sound like Sinbad,' Sakura thought 'He always did know how to capture an audience.'_

" _Wow so are these dungeons-_

 _Suddenly he was grabbed from underneath the table by the back of his collar by the women who worked at the inn. She furiously began scolding him._

" _What do you think you are doing here!?" she said "This is a foreigner's only facility, you know darn well it's against the rules how many times do I have to tell you not to come in here!?"_

 _Sakura nearly fell out of her seat as the women shook Mystras "B-But-_

" _No, you know that there are dire consequence if you are caught here; you must leave!" the women continued to scold him "As the son of the knight king, you must be more aware of your position! How do you intend to lead one day if you-_

 _Sakura nearly went blank when she heard what that women said; the knight king? As in the ruler of this country? She had heard about him when she asked who was in charge of this country; apparently it was a man called Darius Leoxis._

 _And she had been talking with his son for this past week..._

" _Also you are not just talking to any foreigner but a women!" she exclaimed as she dragged him out; Sakura gave a weak wave as she watched Mystras being dragged out. Although she wanted to help, she didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble in this country. They had their own religion and she would respect that for as long as she was here. She couldn't afford to get kicked out just yet or she wouldn't be able to continue searching for the dungeon or for the capturer. This was the only sign of civilisation for miles so a conqueror could only be here in this kingdom._

 _The women then came back and looked at Sakura "I know that you are an outsider and therefore you do not know our religion but Sasan law forbids unnecessary contact with the outside for worry of tainting their purity. Do you understand?"_

 _Clenching her fists Sakura put on a bright smile and nodded "Of course I am so sorry I had no idea!"_

 _ **Sitri spoke "Wow you're a good liar"**_

* * *

Sakura smiled, it was all for the sake of returning home so a little lie now and then never hurt anyone right? Over the long period Sakura spent in this world she was content that sometimes she would have to take certain measures in order to reach her goals. She chose to do what she needed to in order to survive of course she wouldn't stoop to levels below her morals but she was willing to do what's necessary.

'I'll do whatever I have to in order to achieve my goal and leave this world with no regrets.'

" _Except for those companions you left behind." Beleth said_

Sakura frowned at this 'What are you talking about?'

" _What companions?" Sitri asked getting curious now_

" _Yes I have not heard of this." Stolas said fascinated_

" _That's because our king does not wish to talk-_

"If I don't want to talk about them why are you brining them up?" Sakura snapped softly, her fists clenched. These days now Sakura began to think very little of that period she had spent with Sinbad, Ja'far, Hinahoho and everyone else. They were nothing but memories to her now however memories did trigger emotions. No matter how much time passed though, there were these feelings that would bubble up from time to time whenever she got a reminder of them.

"All of you shut it; I don't want to hear anything about-

A loud booming laughter filled the area "They ignored us so much it made me laugh."

"I didn't think that the knights were so unaccommodating."

"Obviously! They're the governing organisation that protects Sasan. Even if we get kicked out of the country you can't complain. You have got to be more careful Sinbad!"

Sakura froze, her spoon that was moving towards her mouth stopped as she felt her heart begin to pound. There was just no way she heard right...

"Okay next time I'll defiantly get them to talk to me!"

Sakura felt her hands trembling as she chanted in her head 'No way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way...'

"Sounds good, negation by force; I'll help you."

"No I'm sure that by speaking they were understand; there will be nothing underhanded."

"Are you listening to me!? I'm saying that you shouldn't do anything to upset the knights and you shouldn't be encouraging him Hinahoho."

" _My king is something wrong?" asked Stolas_

" _Yeah, I can kinda feel your panic." Sitri stated_

" _Well my king what shall we do?" Beleth asked being the only one aware of the situation and reason for their master's distress._

Ever since Sakura had left Sinbad and his companions she was content with the fact that there was little to no chance of ever seeing them again. So try to imagine the shock on her face when she spots an older but very familiar purple haired teen sitting at a table with a tall but and also familiar blue haired man and young white haired boy sitting a few tables in the centre of the inn.

'Hinahoho, Ja'far and Sinbad are here!'

Sakura stood up from the table and quickly and quietly as she could, without being too obvious. She began to walk quickly as she could to the stairs so she could go to her room and hide out until she came up with a plan to deal with this situation.

However a voice made her freeze in her tracks.

"Sakura?"

 **THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS. HOPE YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER BECAUSE I KNOW I AM (once I start writing it)**

 **Don't forget to review**


	11. Three djinns forward one boy back

**Welcome to the next chapter everyone, I'm not going to say anything that'll spoil it so I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Sakura froze and turned her head to the side looking at the table where Sinbad, Ja'far and Hinahoho were sitting but none seemed to have been aware of her presence. Also the voice was coming from the opposite direction of the trio. Behind a pile of barrels Sakura saw Mystras hiding from the inn workers.

With a careful glance at the three she quickly ran over to him and hid behind the barrels peering around to make sure no one had spotted her running over here before turning to Mystras.

"Mystras what are you doing?" she asked in a hushed voice

"I-I saw these new travellers here today so I followed them."

Sakura pulled a face "Oh please don't tell me you mean-

"Look that's them over there," he pointed to the three familiar figures "I saw them in town earlier; they were trying to talk to my father but the knights pulled them back so I followed them here, I've never seen people like them before!"

"They were trying to talk to the Knight King?" Sakura asked, it didn't take long for her to figure that Sinbad was most likely here to establish a trading relationship with Sasan...

" _Sinbad, there are plenty of countries that are trading with Reim already," she pointed "But what you need is an edge over the competition."_

" _I think I get what you're saying," Sinbad said "We should establish commerce with those few countries that isolate themselves like Imuchakk. That way we're ahead of other companies."_

" _What about this one?" Sakura asked pointing to a certain location on the map in front of them "Sasan; already appears to trade with Reim but they haven't allowed other countries to trade with them. Why not start there? It's also the closest."_

'Stupid!' Sakura mentally slapped herself when she realised that she and Sinbad had planned for this over a year ago and to make matters even more embarrassing she was the one who had suggested it in the first place, of course it wasn't that long ago before Sakura left them, in fact it had been planned in that same week. They had just barely gotten into it.

Mystras's rambling broke Sakura from her thoughts "You know; they all look so young! I wonder if they have interesting stories like you Sakura!"

Sakura grimaced when she saw the excited glimmer in Mystras's eyes; of course he had a natural curiosity of the world that everyone else in Sasan lacked. She didn't understand how people expected to grow if they kept themselves isolated all for the sake of preserving their way of life. Although she admired Mystras's efforts to learn more about the world, this time his curiosity was something that could prove to be problematic for herself.

After all, how would you react if you saw someone you stayed with for nearly an entire year and then vanished for another year without so much as a warning or goodbye? Sakura didn't know the answer but she was sure she didn't want to find out.

"It's weird, that one guy with the blue hair...he looks a lot like those people you described in one of your stories Sakura, remember the one about the land of ice?"

Sakura slapped her forehead as she recalled telling Mystras about the largely built people in the icy barren land of Imuchakk; things were working in full circle right now as her past came back just to bite her in the ass.

A thought then occurred to her, if Mystras spoke to Sinbad and asked to tell him tales of the outside world, Mystras might find a suspicious link between his stories and Sakura's and knowing Sinbad assuming he hasn't changed all that much he would tell him about his adventures in the dungeons and there was no way Mystras would be able to miss the similarities between them. Now the fact that Sakura didn't consider Sinbad may not want to talk to a complete stranger about his adventures was because should he find out who Mystras was and his relation to the Knight King he would seen an opportunity that he couldn't resist.

'That and he has never missed an opportunity to boast about himself.' Sakura thought sweat dropping as she recalled all those times she would find him skipping work to go and do street performances like before.

As for Mystras hearing about the stories...Best case scenario Mystras thinks it was merely a coincidence and doesn't mention her, worst case he mentions her Sinbad puts two and two together.

'And that means he'll confront me and...

Sakura shook her head, she wouldn't allow that to happen, she couldn't. With swift motions Sakura had Mystras pinned against the wall, she held him firmly by his shoulders before moving her face close. Mystras seemed completely taken aback by the pinkette's quick movements and the close proximity of her body to his had him turning red, he had never been this close to a girl before as religion forbids Sasan men from actually looking women in the eye. All he could see right now though was Sakura's powerful green eyes.

'They're like emeralds.'

"Mystras," Sakura spoke her friends voice in a firm voice, her eyes narrowed "Please don't talk to those men."

"H-Huh?" he looked at her dumbfounded

Sakura glanced down at her shoes before turning back up to Mystras with a fierce expression "Please, you have to promise me you won't talk to them no matter what!"

"B-But Sakura-

"Please Mystras!"

"I...

"HEY WHAT EXACTLY DO THE TWO OF YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Sakura and Mystras both stumbled from fright and began falling to the back, the barrels that kept them hidden fell around them drawing the attention from _everyone_ in the inn.

Sitri laughed at Sakura _"That was funny, do it again!"_

'SHUT UP'

Sakura moved to get up from her position on the floor but found that Mystras had fallen on top of her; with a groan she gently pushed him to the side and sat up rubbing her head.

"Hey are you okay?" she asked him

Mystras sat him as well "Y-Yes."

Sakura gasped and stood up quickly when she realised that they had just caused a ruckus and everyone around them had heard it. Unless you were deaf it was impossible to miss that. Mystras stood up as well and looked at her curiously noting that her posture had become much straighter, her hands at her sides with fists clenched and trembling.

He looked at her concerned "Sa-

"Sa-

"Ku-

"Ra?"

" _Now this is interesting..."_ Sitri trailed in a mischievous sounding voice

" _My king?" asked Stolas "What troubles you?"_

" _Oh my king," Beleth sighed_

Before anymore could be said Sakura turned on her heel and made a beeline for the exit, she heard several yells and heavy footsteps behind her included Mystras but she continued to run. She stumbled over her feet, feeling overwhelmed before finally getting a grip of her footing.

'This isn't happening!'

" _King please, calm down!" Beleth said "There is no need-_

" _Hell I'm loving this!" laughed Sitri_

Mystras had somehow caught up with Sakura and was now running beside her, though he appeared winded already having to keep up with the pinkette's speed.

"S-Sakura." He panted

"Keep running!" she instructed

"HEY" She heard someone from behind her call

"HOLD UP."

As if it wasn't bad enough she was being chased by those three, running outside in the middle of town attracted a lot of attention from the people of Sasan as they stared in horror when they noticed Mystras running beside her.

"I-Is that, the kings son?"

"I can't be."

"But look!"

"What on earth!?"

Sitri was cackling loudly in Sakura's mind, she was sure that the djinn would be rolling on the floor if it were possible _"This is too damn funny!"_

'Oh I'm so glad you're amused.' Sakura hissed back

" _I really do, you're being chased by three males-perhaps my king's not so innocent after all"_

'KEEP YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER, IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT.'

" _Then why are you running?" interjected Stolas_

'Okay next djinn to talk is getting thrown in the voyage bag!'

Sakura turned a quick corner so that she and Mystras were hiding between two buildings in an alley, she watched as Sinbad, Hinahoho and Ja'far run right passed them and sighed in relief.

"S-Sakura, why were you running away from those people? Do you know them?"

Rubbing her head Sakura mumbled "It's complicated; they are old acquaintances of mine."

"Then why run from them?" Mystras asked

Sakura sighed and leaned back against the wall of one of the buildings "Complicated Mystras, very complicated..."

"She ran out on us in the middle of the night without saying a word so now she's trying to avoid facing us, it's really not all that complicated." Sakura and Mystras froze as the males voice, glancing back they saw a tall man looming over them.

Sakura gaped "H-Hina-eek!"

Sakura squealed when she felt something wrap around her, binding her arms tight causing her to fall to her knees. Mystras looked at her in shock before following the wires to the person holding them, there he saw a young boy with white hair.

"Long time to no see," a cold voice said

"Ja-Ja'far!" exclaimed Sakura struggling against the bindings only to have them pulled tighter.

And if they were here that meant...

"Well, well." Sakura winced keeping her head down but a finger dipped under her chin and pushed her face up, emerald met gold and Sakura felt like time had stopped in that exact moment .

"Sinbad..." Sakura breathed feeling her heart pounding with anxiousness.

The purple haired male smiled at her "It's been a while...Sakura."

She could feel her djinns getting a little excited

" _What shall we do now king?" asked Beleth_

" _This seems to be quite the dilemma." Stolas stated_

" _He's so handsome, our king sure can pick em!"_

* * *

Sakura slumped in her chair as Ja'far's wires held her tight, she could get out of them easily enough but it wouldn't matter because they had already caught her, it wouldn't matter since she couldn't leave until she found that djinn and got the shard. She and Mystras were taken back to the inn, when the women wouldn't let Mystras enter again Sinbad had easily managed to charm her into letting him stay even though it wasn't allowed.

"Seducing women into going against their religious practice," Sakura rolled her eyes "Same Sinbad I see,"

Mystras was seated beside Sakura "Um," he looked nervously at Sinbad who was sitting across from them with Ja'far and Hinahoho with his arms crossed over his chest leaning back into the chair "Th-Thank you for helping me-

"I wouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions." Sinbad stated seriously with narrowed eyes "I only did it because I wanted to ask you a few questions."

"E-Eh?" Mystras stuttered taken aback

Sakura glared at Sinbad "Sinbad, what are you-ah!"

She sucked in a breath when she felt Ja'far tug on the wire's making them tighter. She lightly glared at Ja'far, did he go back to his old ways after she left or something?! Though when she looked at his face Sakura could tell that Ja'far was pissed.

"S-So what do you want to ask me exactly?" Mystras asked nervously

"Well for starters...What exactly is your relationship with Sakura!?" he asked not bothering to beat around the bush.

Sakura flushed red "S-Sinbad! Why would you ask such a-

"Oh I'll get to you soon enough." Sinbad snapped making her gulp nervously; she hadn't seen him like this before but she did not like it. This wasn't the kind of reaction she was expecting from him, even in a situation like this she expected him to have that calmed, charming smile on his face. He didn't seem like the kind to get this mad over something so-

"Sakura and I are..." Mystras trailed glancing at the pinkette with a tiny blush, Sakura just raised an eyebrow at him waiting to say something but the poor Sasan boy seemed tongue tied "Um, we're. We- that is to say-

"Friends," Sakura interjected "We're friends, not that it's any of your business!"

Sinbad's posture seemed to visibly relax in that instant; he smiled while Mystras seemed lost for words if not a little pouty "Oh well okay nice to meet you!"

Ja'far looked at Sakura "So care to explain why you suddenly vanished?"

"Without notifying anyone!?" added Hinahoho in a scolding tone, she was guessing it came with the territory of being a parent, worrisome.

"For over a year!?" Ja'far added

" _Yikes, our king is getting scolded like a child." Sitri grimaced_

" _She is still a child." Stolas pointed_

" _But still our king, you two need to learn to be more respectful." Beleth scolded them_

"Well Sakura?" Sinbad asked leaning on his hands "Are you going to explain?"

With a final breath Sakura spoke "It was time for me to leave."

Ja'far slammed his hand on the table angrily "That's your excuse!? Do you have any idea how worried we all were!?"

Hinahoho attempted to calm down Ja'far but he wouldn't have it "Ja'far there's no need to-

"No!" Ja'far hissed shaking his head before setting his eyes back on Sakura "You just left without saying anything! Do you know how that made us feel!? We thought something happened to you! We were set back all of our plant taking weeks to look for you!"

Sakura didn't reply, her eyes down casted; all she had to do was say it, just like at the peer and they would disappear, they wouldn't bother with her anymore...

'Just say it...'

" _I know that we worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead." Sakura started speaking in a stoic voice "but in the end I've decided...to leave and go home, back to the place where I belong. This place will never be home; home will never be with you."_

But when she opened her mouth to speak Sinbad beat her to it.

"Okay that's enough Ja'far let her go."

"But-

"Ja'far." Sinbad said sternly

Though hesitant Ja'far did as instructed and let the wires fall lose on Sakura, he had tightened it so much there were some visible red marks that would probably leave bruises but Sakura would worry about those later right now she was more concerned about dealing with these three.

"A while back," Sinbad began "I remember Sakura said that she had her own goal she wanted to achieve, but she stayed with us for so long to help me with mine. That's why you left right?"

Sakura nodded softly

"Well then we can' really be mad at her for leaving right?" Sinbad said looking at Ja'far and Hinahoho

Hinahoho then smiled "Well as long as you're safe, it's no problem."

Ja'far though calmed still seemed a little upset but said "Sure I guess..."

Sinbad walked over to Sakura's side and she knew that he was looking at her "He is right though. We were all worried; you could've at least told us you were leaving."

She continued to keep her eyes down, Mystras was looking at her with concern on his face before turning back to the men who were still strangers to him.

"That's enough!" he exclaimed "Sakura's-

Before Mystras could say anymore Sinbad had taken action, he grabbed Sakura wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her to his chest. Sakura gasped in shock as she got a whiff of Sinbad's scent, it reminded her of the ocean and spices...

"I'm glad to see you again, Sakura..."

Sakura wasn't entirely sure what to do about this, she felt like she was choking unable to utter a single word. When she left she resolved that she was going to do whatever it took to return home, she was going to do that but when something like this happened...when they were here right in front of her after all this time, she felt conflicted. Her mind told her that she needed to return home, back to her village, to her friends, to her unfinished business-to the ones who came first but in her heart it felt torn. A part longed for her to return home while the other couldn't ignore that she cared for these people but she knew it would be selfish of to choose them over her world.

'They came first.' Sakura told herself pulling away from Sinbad

Sinbad and Sakura starred at one another, neither wavering as they held each other's gazes before Sakura spoke.

"You got old."

Sinbad seemed to snap out of it and pulled a surprised face "I'm not old; I just grew up and got a little taller! I'm a handsome young man now!"

Sakura laughed; she knew his weak point "Oh you sure..."

"Yes!" Sinbad stomped pulling away from her completely

With a smile Sakura moved over to Mystras and placed a hand on his shoulder "Anyway everyone, this is Mystras a friend I've made in Sasan, he is also the son of the knight king Darius."

The three merchants gasped in shock.

"Really!?" the three asked in shock though Sakura didn't miss the glint in their eyes...she was certain that they were trying to figure out a way to interact with the knights after overhearing their conversation earlier on. Even though she was in shock she still paid attention. She could've guessed that Sinbad would be having difficulty establishing permission to trade with Sasan as they were had a very strict upbringing that didn't allow them to interact with outsiders never mind merchants wanting to do business with them.

' _Our king is..." Sitri and Stolas trailed_

" _One in a million." Beleth said sighing_

"You're seriously the knight kings son?" asked Sinbad

Mystras nodded slowly still uncertain about what to say to these travellers, he had originally planned on asking them to tell him about the outside world but with everything that had happened up to this point he wasn't sure that option was on the table anymore.

Sakura gently shoved Mystras's shoulder "Anyway Mystras here has a curiosity about the outside world and wanted to ask you to tell him stories, you're good at that Sinbad."

Not missing the look on her face Sinbad gave a grateful nod before calling to the waitress "Miss food and wine and keep it coming!"

* * *

By the end of the day Sinbad had told Mystras all of his stories about the outside world, about dungeons and the powers that it offered, the sight gave Sakura a familiarly warm feeling inside and it seemed like they had all gotten passed her whole running away without saying a word for an entire year stunt-at least she hoped. After it started getting late Mystras finally had to leave although he was sure to come back after listening to Sinbad's stories.

* * *

Sighing Sakura turned on her side, trying to get comfortable on the plush bed. She was worried for a bit about how long she was going to be able to remain in Sasan since Sinbad was here as well but now that they seemed occupied with winning over Mystras to get to the knight king she doubted she'd be a heavy topic.

'After all they came here for an entirely different reason, they wouldn't abandon it.'

" _This works to your advantage though." Beleth pointed out_

Sakura smirked running a hand through her short tresses "Yeah, I know. With this I can focus on finding that other djinn. I need to do it soon though before Sinbad inevitably causes trouble and I get dragged into it."

"Aw, I'm hurt you think that way about me."

"GEEZ" Sakura yelped rolling off her bed and landing on the floor with a thud, flat on her face she looked up to glare at the intruder. She had gotten a bit too engrossed in her thoughts. Standing up Sakura glared furiously at Sinbad.

"What the hell are you doing here!?"

Sinbad crossed his arms over his chest, holding a smirk "You didn't honestly think I was going to let you off the hook that easily right?"

She gaped at him in shock "Bu-But you told Ja'far and Hinahoho-

"Ja'far looked like he was about to assassinate you and Hinahoho was going to go all overprotective father mode on you; I figured this way I'd be able to get more out of you."

She groaned and stood up "Cunning as always huh?"

Sinbad plopped down on her bed and patted the empty space beside him making her narrow her eyes at him before she hesitantly joined him.

"So what do you want?" she asked snappy

"Well for one, I'd like to know when this happened." Sinbad held up the hairpin that he had gotten her all those years ago. Sakura glanced back at the nightstand by the bed where she had placed her metal vessels and other belongings.

Sakura averted her eyes "I don't know what you're talking about."

Instead of being wavered Sinbad seemed to welcome Sakura's challenge of denial "Oh?"

Reaching to the back of her head Sinbad trailed a finger along her neck till he reached her short hair, it had been cut like a boys. He sighed softly "It's such a shame, you pink hairs truly eye catching."

"Which is why I cut it," Sakura stated clenching her fists slightly as she recalled those times she had run into those slave merchants and over the year they weren't the first to try and capture her because of her unique hair and eye colour, honestly back in her world she was ridiculed enough for her looks but in this world...it put a target on her back.

"Care to tell me a few stories?" Sinbad asked twirling the hairpin between his fingers. "Perhaps like how you acquired a second djinn?"

Sakura's face pulled into a frown as she snatched her hairpin from his grasp "I'd rather not, it's late and that's a long story."

Sinbad leaned back on the bed, his arms behind his head "We've got all night then."

"You're not leaving are you," it was more of a statement than a question

"Nope, I played along with you earlier so you owe me this much." Sinbad said casually "Besides I like your stories."

"And I like sleep which I'm not going to get with you in my room."

"The you'd better get started."

Knowing she wasn't going to get out of this without punching Sinbad through the wall which would only disrupt everyone in the building and get her kicked out, she told him about how she conquered Sitri's dungeon as quickly as she could but even then it still took over two hours for her to tell because Sinbad had continuously asked her questions from start to finish on the dungeon, the creatures and so on.

"Wow so what's Sitri's ability?" Sinbad asked starring at the hairpin in Sakura's hand

Holding out her free hand Sakura created a small tornado in the palm of her hand, Sinbad watched with fascination at the spiralling wind.

"Wow..." Sinbad looked up at her and grinned widely "So it looks like we're the first multiple dungeons capturers huh?"

Sakura scoffed "Maybe but I've got you beat by one."

Sinbad gasped and Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth.

"YOU HAVE THREE DJINNS?"

"Shh!" Sakura snapped slapping her hand over Sinbad's mouth looking at her door cautiously. She could not afford to get involved in one of Sinbad's slip ups not when there was a shard at risk. "Would you keep your voice down? They'll kick us out if we cause trouble."

Sinbad let out some muffled noises that Sakura couldn't make out so she removed her hand "You sound like Ja'far."

"At least he gets it." Sakura said placing her metal vessel back on the nightstand.

"So anyway, you have three djinns how?"

Sakura nodded and pointed to the arm bracelet that was next to her headband "My third djinn is called Stolas."

"Can you show me what he can do?" Sinbad asked with an existed gleam

Sakura raised an eyebrow "Sure if you don't mind being paralysed for the rest of your life."

"Huh?"

"Stolas is a djinn of poison." Sakura said with a sinister smirk "And he has many talents..."

Sinbad held up his hands in surrender "Okay never mind the demonstration, I'll just take the story."

Sakura groaned "Sinbad it's going to be light out by the time I finish!"

Despite Sakura's arguments however, she ended up telling Sinbad about how she conquered Stolas's dungeon and no matter how much time passed, Sinbad's eyes stayed glue to her as he listened intently. They ended up talking throughout the entire night, just like in the past, after the two dungeon stories, Sakura then brought up how she was captured by the slave merchants, taken to their lair with this other boy they were chasing and then how she freed everyone.

"I can't believe you let yourself get captured..." Sinbad trailed frowning slightly, he then noted Sakura's head drooping slightly and her eyes threatening to close. His hand reached out to her head and brought it down to his shoulder. Sakura didn't really react, it wasn't the first time he did something like this with her; it had just been a while.

"It wasn't on purpose..." Sakura yawned softly "I had everything under control; I was waiting for them to take me to their hideout so that I could free all those slaves."

"I really despise it," Sinbad said resting his head on top of Sakura's "This worlds corrupt."

Sakura mumbled closing her eyes "But you said you were going to change it right?"

Gasping softly Sinbad's eyes softened "You remembered huh?"

"It's hard to forget," she said honestly

"Will you at least stay a while before taking off again?"

In her groggy state she said "I guess..."

With that Sakura slipped into unconsciousness

* * *

"Where the heck is he?" Ja'far hissed crossing his arms over his chest; he looked around the eating area again for any sign of his leader but nothing.

"I don't know, he wasn't in his room." Hinahoho said

Ja'far rubbed his head "If he tried to talk to the knights again we're going to have a lot of problems. We're not allowed to interact with the citizens never mind the knights." Ja'far gasped

"Relax Ja'far I'm right here." Sinbad said stepping over to the two yawning softly "Morning."

Ja'far glared at him "Where have you been?!"

Then they heard another yawn and a figure stepped out from behind Sinbad "Good morning everybody."

Hinahoho and Ja'far gave them both blank expressions "Never mind..."

Sinbad and Sakura took a seat in front of them, Hinahoho and Ja'far had already ordered food that was neatly placed on the table in front of them.

"Want some?" Sinbad asked handing her a plate

"Sure..." Sakura said before she started dishing herself not noticing Ja'far and Hinahoho starring at them.

Ja'far jumped out of his seat and pointed to his seat "What the heck happened!?"

Sinbad looked at him in confusion "What are you talking about?"

"Where were you?" Ja'far asked

He pointed to Sakura "I went to Sakura's room last night."

Hinahoho and Ja'far gaped at him before Hinahoho stuttered "Tha-That doesn't meant that the two of you-

Sakura jumped and held out her hands "Hell no! We just talked and then fell asleep!"

They literally saw Hinahoho and Ja'far chest deflate as they let out sighs of relief. Sinbad grinned while Sakura flushed and focused on eating her breakfast.

"Hey guys guess what? Sakura's got three djinns now!"

"SAY WHAT?" They shouted

Sakura nearly choked on her food before chugging down a glass of water then glaring at Sinbad with watery eyes.

"Sinbad-

"Three djinns?!" asked Ja'far shocked

Sakura nodded "Surprise?"

"Surprise is right." Hinahoho said

With a nervous laugh Sakura rubbed the back of her head; she then looked at Ja'far who was starring at her still shocked, she smiled at him "You've grown up quite a bit Ja'far."

She saw a light blush dusting his cheeks before he pouted and turned his head away with a frown, she could tell that he was doing his best to let her know he was mad with her but she could see she was chipping away at him.

'Not that it's going to matter,' she thought; she was going to be leaving after she found that djinn and shard. But for the first time in a year, she felt...happiness-one that came from being with the people you cared for.

'But this...' she looked at the three 'Still doesn't change anything.'

 **Hey everyone I know this chapter is a bit short but I will have the next one up soon by the end of this week at the latest.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	12. Gods behind man, man behind god

**Hello everyone, I'm sorry for kinda lagging on this update but I've been working on my other stories as well. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Sakura had spent some time catching up with Sinbad; Hinahoho and Ja'far. She was mostly hearing stories about how worried everyone was after she left. They had assumed the worst coming up with different theories like abduction, becoming a felon or finally having enough of Sinbad's pickup lines and leaving but by the end of it all, things appeared a lot better between them.

' _You're friends are really interesting' Sitri said_

'Try living with them for a year,' Sakura said back to her

Later that day Mystras came back to the inn after sneaking away from the knights; when he arrived he seemed rather distraught and upset.

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked worriedly moving away from the group at the table and rushing quickly over to Mystras there was a bright red mark on the side of his face that would be turning into a bruise. She placed her hand over his cheek and began to heal it. "How did this happen?"

Mystras glared at the floor; his voice stone cold and serious "My father."

She gasped softly; she didn't understand how some people could lay a hand on their own flesh and blood like that even if it wasn't uncommon. Sakura kept her hand on Mystras's cheek.

"I'm sorry..."

Mystras shook his head before taking her hand; he smiled at her "I'm okay now."

Sinbad came up behind Sakura; grabbing her shoulders he gently pulled her back making her glare at him.

"So what's this about?" he asked

"Sinbad..." Mystras's eyes hardened before he bowed his head "Please. Take me with you!"

"What?" Sakura and Sinbad asked simultaneously

"I want to leave Sasan with you! I've had enough of this country! So please take me with you!"

Sinbad, Ja'far and Hinahoho were looking at one another with very uncertain expressions.

"We would like to but the reason we came here was to trade with Sasan."

Sakura didn't say anything but she knew that if they wanted to have any hope of establishing a relationship with this country, going against their religion by agreeing to let Sasan's rightful heir leave wouldn't be the way to go but they were being kind by not saying it like that.

Sinbad then looked up from all of them "Who is there? Come on out."

There was the patter of small footsteps before a young boy, no older than eight years old stepped out; he had bright short red hair and red eyes, he resembled Mystras a lot.

"Spartos!" Mystras called the boy with familiarity "What are you doing here?"

"Brother," Spartos addressed his older brother "I admire you. I want you to stay in Sasan and inherit father's position and become the Knight King. Only you can rule this country!"

Mystras's face turned grim as he stood up; his back facing his brother "You should be the king. You heard me right? I don't intend to die without knowing the outside."

Sinbad smiled "I get it; I'll bring you with us."

Sakura nearly fell over; she scowled at Sinbad "Sinbad-

He held up a hand before turning back to Mystras "But, not secretly. You have to be responsible for your own decisions."

Mystras nodded "Yes, I agree. Once a person is baptized as a Sasan knight they make a solemn promise to serve Sasan until the day they die. Besides death there's only one other way to resign from the knights."

Spartos became frantic "But brother that's...

"Spartos, go home and tell father. Tell him I want to leave the troop officially." Mystras said seriously

Without saying anything else to his brother Spartos took off.

"What exactly is this other thing you have to do in order to resign from the knights?" Sakura asked Mystras cautiously

Mystras clenched his fists "I...

"Mystras"

Sinbad came up behind Sakura and placed his hand on her shoulder "Sakura, this is Mystras's decision. He doesn't have to explain anything to us."

Though she wasn't too thrilled about it, she knew he was right. It was his decision and if this was their tradition it wouldn't be wise to go against them.

Besides she had other matters to worry about.

* * *

"Will that boy be okay?" asked Ja'far

"Who knows?" Sinbad replied

Sakura kept quiet, the entire night she tossed and turned wanting to know what exactly was the other way for Mystras to resign from the knights; if they pledged their life to their country she didn't think that the resignation was going to be an easy process.

Hinahoho stretched his arms out "He should be fine."

Sakura stopped when she heard a soft fluttering from behind her, Sinbad turned around along with her and were surprised to see a familiar blonde standing by the building.

"Hey."

Sakura gasped "Yunan!"

"What are you doing here?" asked Sinbad

Yunan smiled at them "Hello Sakura; Sinbad. My you've really aged."

Sinbad went hysterical "I'm not old! I've only grown! I've become more of a man!"

"Seriously?" Yunan asked in a sarcastic tone

"Being called old is kinda our leader's weakness." Ja'far stated

"That along with alcohol and women," Sakura added nodding her head with Ja'far and Hinahoho

Ja'far then pointed to Yunan "You two know this guy?"

"He's a traveller who guided me to Baal's dungeon." Sinbad explained to them

"And I met him while I was travelling." Sakura added "Right before I came to Imuchakk."

"Though I don't actually know who he is." Sinbad said

Yunan came closer to them and placed his hand on his hip "Well that's a shame considering I've only been watching you two the entire time. Sinbad you have a second djinn and Sakura, you now have three."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at Yunan and crossed her arms "Okay that's creepy; how did you know that?"

"Like I said I've been watching you." Yunan repeated making Sakura scowl further though Sinbad didn't seem to mind.

"So what exactly are you doing here?" asked Sinbad

"You should now that lately several dungeons have appeared worldwide."

Sakura and Sinbad nodded, they both had heard about dungeons appearing during their travels but they hadn't heard about other's conquering it.

"Ever since I captured Baal, many were seen in various places." Sinbad said

"Yes, not only for adventurers, royalty and powerful people challenged dungeons and obtained the power of the djinns."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and grunted in disappointment, it was hard enough to capture dungeons and get the shards from the djinns, imagine her trouble dealing with their king candidates.

"The Reim Empire and the new empire that joined the three countries called Kou, small countries like Artemyra and Heliohapt and even here in Sasan kingdom...and your country Parthevia."

Sinbad gasped, Sakura looked shocked.

"You two are no longer the only ones with the power of a djinn." Yunan said

Sakura narrowed her eyes "Has someone in Sasan conquered a dungeon already?"

"Yes, Sasan's Knight King Darius Leoxses." Yunan said to them "So what will you do?"

Sinbad placed a hand behind his head "I only came here to discuss trading with Sasan."

"Well, now I've gotta go meet this Knight King." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and let out a sigh, as if it wasn't already hard enough to get around Sasan with the people's strong religious beliefs that had them avoiding outsiders and she had to talk to their king.

"From the start, I sought an audience with the Knight King." Sinbad said grinning "The fact that he is a dungeon conqueror doesn't change anything. It makes it more interesting."

Yunan chuckled softly before tapping his staff on the ground "You're interesting as always, I'll be looking forward to see you again...both of you."

They watched as Yunan literally vanished into thin air leaving everyone but Sinbad and Sakura stunned. Having known Yunan was far from an ordinary traveller.

Right now though there was something far more important to worry about.

Sakura turned to Sinbad "So do you know the way to the Knight King?"

Sinbad grinned widely holding out his hand for her "You didn't honestly think I wouldn't attempt to use a little force at first right?"

With a smile Sakura took his hand.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Knights lodgings, with the intent to see Mystras they were told by some other knights that Mystras had officially declared his withdrawal from the knights. What concerned them was when they mentioned that Mystras would have to fight his way to the Knight King in order to resign, a duel that whoever loses would be beheaded.

"Winner Mystras!"

Sakura, Sinbad, Ja'far and Hinahoho watched as Mystras took down one of the senior knights, they heard muttering from the crowd of knights around them that were watching the match in awe. They were so distracted; they weren't even concerned about the four outsiders entering the palace. Mystras was wounded showing he had fought his way through a great number of knights. They heard the crowds muttering about how amazed they were that Mystras was that strong since he was only an apprentice who tended to slack off.

"I did not know he was this strong."

"All that remains now is the Knight King."

Mystras turned to his father who was watching him with a piercing gaze "Come father." Mystras called "If I win, I will become the Knight King, our doctrine, the knights, this country, I will abandon everything and leave this place. If I become the most powerful man in this country no one can stop me. That's right isn't it!?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the knight King step forward; this was her first time seeing him. He was a middle aged man with sharps eyes and the same colour hair as his son, only a bit darker, he carried a giant blue spear.

Ja'far narrowed his eyes "If that man has a djinn then...

"There's no way Mystras can win." Sakura said softly

Sinbad spoke in a hushed tone "Let's just watch for now."

The two were now facing one another.

"Apprentice Knight, Mystras Leoxses and the Knight King Darius Leoxses. Make it a fair fight under the blessing of God. BEGIN"

Mystras sprung forward in the blink of an eye and began attacking with everything he had, not giving anyone enough time for his opponent to launch a counter. Sakura was surprised given the size of the spear which obviously wasn't light. Mystras nearly hit his father but Darius moved his head at the last second.

"Nearly." Ja'far said

"He's good." Sinbad muttered watching the match closely

"But still." Sakura trailed softly "I doubt this is going to be the end of it."

Mystras stepped back watching Darius closely

"I see you have the strength to speak that way." Darius said holding up his spear "But an attack of this level..."

"BE QUIET" Mystras moved to strike

"Repel Alloces!"

Everyone watched as Mystras's attack was met with some kind of barrier that surrounded the Knight King launching him back straight into a pillar, he landed with a heavy crash.

They spotted the eight stars on the spear; Sinbad and Sakura knew then that this was the power of Darius's djinn. However the other knights were calling it the power of god.

"That's the power of the god only the Knight King can use."

"There is a legendary tower that appears at times when the world is full of unusual phenomenon and the Knight King conquered it. That power returns any attack to the attacker."

"It seems they have no idea about dungeons or djinns. They believe it's exclusively for the knights only." Sakura told them while glancing worriedly at Mystras "If this continues...

"There's no way." Hinahoho said

Looking at Sinbad she asked "Well what now? Do you have a plan?"

"Just wait..."

Sakura glared at Sinbad, if he wasn't going to do anything to stop the Knight King from decapitating his own son; she was.

'Sitri...' Sakura reached for her hair pin only to have her hand grabbed gently by Sinbad

"Hey-

"Not yet." Sinbad said watching Mystras get back up from the ground. "Trust me."

With a hard glare she snatched her hand from his and returned to watching the battle.

" _You're listening to him?" asked Sitri_

'I'm waiting' Sakura responded 'Sinbad's intuition is usually right.'

" _Wow, my king. I thought you would be the last women to ever yield to a man."_

" _Sitri mind your tongue!" Beleth scolded_

They watched as Mystras threw his attacks at his father but they were all deflected, drawing back Mystras let go of his spear throwing it directly at Darius, the barrier stop it but Mystras came up from the side ready to deliver the final punch-literally. However before his fist made contact with Darius, the barrier appeared on the side of the knight king.

Sakura gasped as she watched Mystras being sent flying again and landing with a painful sounding thud, Darius walked up to his son holding his spear above Mystras's head.

"This is the end." Darius said "Take it as thanks. Knight Mystras. I bless your life."

Just then Sinbad stepped in "Stop the battle."

Sakura sighed softly as she watched Sinbad step forward in front of everyone. Darius gave a dissatisfied look before his djinn reacted to Sinbad's. The other knights stepped in front of him.

"Who are you?"

Two knights rushed towards Sinbad who drew his sword and held it high; Baal's power became visible as lightning struck down on the ground without hitting anyone. Sakura's sweat dropped, so Sinbad had stopped her from exhibiting her power just so that he could exhibit his own.

'What a show off.'

When he stopped Darius spoke "This is a sacred fight based on our religion. I would not meddle."

Sinbad with a hand on his hip looked at Darius's spear with a small grin "So a sacred fight...They say that spear managed to conquer The Tower of legend with the power of god."

Darius nodded, although his eyes held much suspicion for Sinbad.

"It really is a special power, but the power is not a power that is just yours." Sinbad explained before turning over to Sakura and gesturing with his head for her to join him. Sakura slowly stepped into the circle of knights surrounding them. She put her hand up in the air and spoke.

"Beleth"

The flames emerged from an eight pointed star that appeared above her hand surrounding the room; she heard the gasps of shock around her before withdrawing. Sinbad placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Like I said, that power is not the manifestation of god. It is a power given to anyone who conquers a dungeon." Sinbad stepped forward with Sakura until they were only a few feet away from the king "That is, that power has nothing to do with the religion of Sasan."

"Who are you?" Darius finally asked

"I am Sinbad, a merchant who travels the world and this is my associate Sakura."

The pinkette let out a soft sigh when he said that, after some time Sinbad began telling people things that implicated their relationship status far from platonic.

"We are dungeon capturers just like you." Sakura stated

Sinbad gently pushed Sakura behind him and held out his sword "So let's have a duel."

Sakura nearly fell over after Sinbad said that, she turned back to Ja'far and Hinahoho, Ja'far seemed pretty shocked by the statement while Hinahoho kept a calm expression but she could see the worry in his eyes.

"As you can see, I have a very lose tongue." Sinbad stated making Sakura role her eyes, she couldn't disagree with that statement "If you win, you can take care of me as you like."

Stepping away from Sinbad and moving pass Darius, she went to Mystras and began healing him.

Mystras coughed "Has Sinbad lost his mind?! He cannot defeat my father!"

Sakura smiled "Don't worry about Sinbad, he may be a bit devious, perverted beyond belief and weird beyond comprehension but he's dependable when you need him."

"I heard that." Sinbad said sending a small glare her way that held no hostility; Sakura smirked in reply.

"What is your goal?" Darius asked him

Sinbad looked at Mystras and Sakura "I'll take him and you have to deal with my trading company."

There were mutters going all around again from the knights, everyone surprised that some outsider was challenging their king. Sakura figured out the angle Sinbad was working here, the people of this country believed that the djinns power was exclusively for them but the two of them had created doubt by showing off their own djinns power and there would be questions of their religious beliefs not just the power of god but everything that Sasan stands for.

"Well what do you say? Will you accept to fight me?"

The Knight King narrowed his eyes at Sinbad "You are a kind man. Especially if you are a trader from the outside world."

Darius looked at his son "He is an apprentice who has lost a fight; I don't really care what happens to him."

Sakura sent a glare Darius's way gripping Mystras's shoulders.

"However I cannot let a stranger meddle in the affairs of this country. I accept your challenge."

Mystras quickly spoke "Don't do it Sinbad! No attack can beat my father. He is protected by a wall, in addition the stronger the power of the attacks the stronger the counter attacks, he-

"Mystras," Sakura slapped her hand over his mouth "I told you didn't? You have nothing to worry about; Sinbad's not the kind of person to pick a fight he believes he can't win."

Sinbad grinned back at Sakura "Still got my back even after all this time huh?"

"Then again, his arrogance is bound to cause his downfall at some point so I'd keep my fingers crossed," she added quickly turning away from him

Sinbad gaped at her and looked like he was about to retort.

"But this time he appears to have a plan so I wouldn't worry."

Ja'far and Hinahoho joined the two to watch the battle.

"You're still the same after all huh Sakura?" asked Hinahoho with a slight grin on his face that made her a little more than suspicious.

Sinbad went to attack Darius first; his sword clashing with the spear though neither one had used their djinn's power yet. Then Darius went to attack Sinbad, but Sinbad was able to dodge it before leaping into the air further away from him. He held out his sword and the star appeared, Sinbad grinned as he fired his attack.

"Bararaq!"

Baal's lightning however seemed to bounce off the barrier from Darius's djinns Alloces and came right back at Sinbad. They watched as Sinbad held up his sword to avoid the blast and send it into the ceiling.

"I told him that would happen!" Mystras exclaimed

Sakura shrugged "I was kinda expecting some form of future construction work needed."

Sinbad rushed forward to attack again before getting blocked by Darius's djinns barrier, the power of the two djinns clashed with one another.

 _Sitri whined "Aw I wanted to fight!"_

'Forget it,' Sakura scolded

All the knights were watching carefully amazed that Sinbad was able to fight on equal ground with their king. Sinbad pulled back from him before grinning.

"Hand to hand? Thinking it's a dog fight with just this? I never would've imagined..."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sinbad's tone 'What is he up to now?'

"I think you power is very good...if only it were at its highest level...I'll show you."

There was a sudden powerful burst of energy coming from Sinbad, everyone watched as a pulsing light began changing Sinbad's form. Sakura gaped.

"Don't tell me he's actually...

Ja'far and Hinahoho appeared surprised as well.

"Could he have mastered it already?" asked Ja'far

" _My king that is-_

'Yes' Sakura said to Stolas 'Definitely a djinn equip'

"The magical djinn equip...Reside in me and me again oh great djinn..."

She looked at Sinbad's dark glowing figure; his new form, blue armour like scales running along his entire arms up to his shoulders, leaving his torso bare, his legs covered as well, a large blue tail appearing from behind, at the centre of his forehead was a gem that had two lines of flames coming out; his purple hair was now blue.

"Baal's djinn equip" Sakura breathed, Sinbad hadn't mentioned this to her.

"Make the power of the djinn enter into you and become one." Sinbad said, a powerful light surrounding him "The djinn equip can use the true power of the djinn. How long can you resist this?"

Sinbad raised his sword high "Bararaq,"

A powerful attack of lightning more than ever came down on Darius; he used his djinn to shield him from it but could feel the difference in the attack as he strained against it.

There was dust everywhere, the knights building was barely standing, everyone looked around in search of Sinbad and Darius but neither could be found. There was a giant hole in the ceiling though. "Where are they?" asked Mystras looking around

Sakura sighed looking up before she began making her way out of the building.

"Hold on where are you going?" asked Ja'far

"To make sure he doesn't over do it."

" _Shall we my king?" Beleth asked with eagerness_

Sakura smirked "Let's go Beleth."

* * *

Sinbad had taken Darius away from the building and carried him through the air further into the mountain region, he held the barrier that Darius had encased himself in. It wasn't too long though before Sinbad dropped him into the mountains. When the dust cleared, there was a huge crater with Darius in it. The barrier had vanished after the impact.

"As expected." Sinbad said landing in front of Darius "You managed to withstand my lightning attack and resisted the fall from that height. The power of you spear is great."

Darius scoffed as he stood up from the crater, his clothes now layered with dirt "You act like you've already won. Just because I held back a little."

Sinbad sighed "Wow, I'm sorry. I thought I made clear the difference in power with the fight just now but it seems that it no enough. I should've shown you this from the beginning."

Sinbad held out his sword towards the mountains turning his back to Darius "Bararaq Saiga"

A huge blast of lightning shot from the Baal's sword before growing in size, a powerful light shone for only a few second but when in vanished, the mountains that stood were now reduced to large hills losing most of its top. Darius gasped completely stunned.

Sinbad turned back to him "Now you understand? If I wanted to, I could destroy all of Sasan in one attack."

Darius glared at Sinbad after he said that.

"You cannot use your djinn equip, so you can't beat me. Although you are the king you cannot protect this country." Sinbad stated before he could continue to say much else Sinbad was flat on the ground, his face buried in the dirt. A painful throbbing in the back of his head from the attack that came behind him.

"YOU IDIOT," Sakura scolded glaring down at Sinbad who was trying to stand up "Did you have to be such a show off and destroy the mountains?!"

Sinbad groaned, he recognised the voice as Sakura's "Ouch! You didn't have to smack me into the ground you know."

Sinbad turned around to look at Sakura but his mouth was practically on the floor from what he saw, her pink hair became a reddish-gray, there were two horns sticking out from her hair; bat-likes wings on her back; she wore a black dress that tied from behind her neck was cut off in the centre in a diamond showing off the centre of her chest and stomach, then it closed and fell down in three parts of material all the way down revealing her legs that were now kept in long silver boots.

Sakura snapped her talons in front of Sinbad's face after realising he was gawking "Eyes up here!"

He looked at her before gesturing to her djinn equip "Okay you never mentioned this to me!"

"Same way you never mentioned Baal's djinn equip to me!" Sakura retorted evenly before turning back to Darius who seemed equally surprised. Sakura went over to him before bowing her head.

"Kind Darius, I apologize for Sinbad's actions. He seemed to have taken things a bit too far but he meant no real disrespect for you or your countries religion, and only wishes to extend his hand in friendship toward Sasan."

"Friendship?" Darius asked narrowing his eyes at Sinbad

"Yes, it's as she said. I wish to start trading with Sasan and make a treaty with this country." Sinbad said

"That is his goal, pure and simple." Sakura reassured him "He only wished to find a way to negotiate with you; if he was really a threat to your country he wouldn't have gone through such lengths just to speak with you."

Sinbad came up beside Sakura and bowed his head as well "I apologise for my disrespect earlier with this I can finally talk to you about what I want to try. Right now humans around the world are beginning to conquer dungeons and gain power. This power will eventually destroy the balance of the world and cause chaos; that also involves Sasan. At this rate it will also be involved in the destruction. However I do not want war. On the contrary, I want to change this world that is full of war and make a world in which countries and people are accepted. For that I want to use this power."

"A world in which all respect each other." Frowned Darius "You really think you can achieve a silly dream like that?"

Sakura gave a soft chuckle "He get's that a lot; Sinbad's aim is to become king someday for that he needs allies who will help him change the world."

Darius's eyes widened "Change the world?"

"For that King Knight of the Kingdom of Sasan. Darius Leoxses. I need your power." Sinbad said

Sakura sensed that familiar feeling she got whenever Sinbad talked this way; he stood strong and confident as usual. He had abilities that many could only dream of attaining. He was defiantly special.

Sakura narrowed her eyes 'But, this kind of power can be very dangerous.'

It would all depend on Sinbad though.

Darius placed his spear down in defeat "This reminds me of a certain legend that is transmitted in Sasan."

"Legend?"

"Yes. You know that Sasan has a religion. The beginning of the legend is this; Long ago the world was full of sorrow, the population of Sasan came to this land and used 'The power of God' he brought from distance places in order to eliminate the sorrows, the god was the king of all, a great leader of everything. He handled everything and led wisely, that meant everyone was under the same belief. The premier king who had the power of god. It closely resembles the world you want."

Sakura's sweat dropped nervously as she looked at Sinbad; while it was just a legend, something like that had to start up from somewhere; legends don't just appear from thin air but what concerned her was that ambitious look in Sinbad's eyes. Though she didn't have a problem with him building his own country to change the world, she could only imagine what might happen if he was driven to rule the world, implementing his beliefs and ideals. It wasn't a farfetched solution to his goals if he found a way to do something like that.

'What's scares me is that I'm actually believing his capable of that.'

It was true; Sinbad was as far as she could tell, a good person-though sly at times, a strong believer of his own goals, willing to do anything to achieve them. But there was something about him that made her worry at times. She stood by him and his goals for she had seen the ugliness of this world but there was this feeling, faintly in the pit of her stomach that told her Sinbad was a man to be concerned about.

"This god of Sasan, what is his name?" asked Sinbad

"It was lost long ago," Darius told him

Sinbad nodded before smiling "Well then, shall we return? I imagine your knights must be getting anxious."

"If that's the case I'd be worried about Ja'far and Hinahoho." Sakura said before turning back to the Knight King "King Darius, before we go back, I need to ask you something..."

* * *

The sun began to set on Sasan country, after the confrontation between Sakura, Sinbad and Darius. Sinbad returned with The Knight King while Sakura remained behind sure that things were going to be fine now. They returned later that night to the inn and found her waiting for them.

"So how'd it go?" Sakura asked

Sinbad grinned "Like you didn't already know."

Sinbad gave her the just of things, after they returned Darius was going to admit his defeat but Sinbad told the knights that it was a draw, they came up with a story that there were changes in the world and because of that like Darius himself, Sinbad was chosen by god to avoid crisis in this world.

"So you're not only the first company to trade with Imuchakk but now you have Sasan on your side as well, nicely done Sinbad."

He grinned at her "Well I've got one heck of a team to back me up."

Ja'far sighed before glaring at Sinbad "Why do you always have to be so reckless?"

"Some things really never change." Sakura muttered shaking her head "I'm guessing you're taking Mystras with you huh?"

Sinbad nodded "As promised, he said he wants to come along so..."

Sakura stood up from the table "That's good to hear,"

Everyone then noted that Sakura looked very ready to leave.

"So you're heading out as well?" Sinbad asked

Sakura nodded "Yeah,"

Taking the mirror she looked at it now with six shards filling the frame; it hadn't taken much after everything to get the shard from Darius's djinn.

Hinahoho and Ja'far's expressions fell "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, I'm finished with my business here in Sasan so it's time for me to go." Sakura told them simply.

"At least you didn't run off this time." Ja'far muttered crossing his arms

Sakura looking between the three "It was nice seeing you guys again."

Hinahoho nodded smiling back at her; he pulled Sakura off the ground into a tight hug "Same kiddo, stay safe."

Ja'far looked at her; she was half expecting a scolding from him even though he was so much younger but was surprised when he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"See you."

Sakura gently patted Ja'far's head affectionately, Ja'far pulled away with a small blush on his face. Just then Mystras came running into the building with a bag over his back.

"I'm ready to go," he said

Sinbad nodded "Great, we were just saying our goodbyes to Sakura."

Mystras titled his head to the side in confusion "You're not coming with?"

She held up her hand and shook her head "I've got my own journey to make."

With that she walked over to Mystras and gave him a hug "Enjoy the outside world for yourself okay?"

Mystras nodded hugging her back a little nervously.

Pulling away she heard someone coughing behind her till she turned around to see Sinbad with his arms opened and an expecting look on his face "You weren't going to forget about me right?"

Sakura rolled her eyes going over to him; Sinbad pulled her tightly dipping his head down to whisper in her ear, his voice only heard by her "Next time you're not getting away so easily."

"You so sure about that?" she whispered back

"I can guarantee it."

"It's a bet." Sakura said smiling

'Because there won't be a next time.'

* * *

Sakura stood on a mountain at the edge of a ledge that Sinbad hadn't destroyed looking over at the city of Sasan; she gripped her mirror.

" _Um my king..." Beleth began unsurely_

" _You sure this is such a good idea?" asked Sitri_

" _I would oppose right now..." Stolas began_

Without replying to her djinn Sakura smiled falling forward, she began falling, the wind whipped around her face (luckily she didn't have enough hair to irritate her. She could hear her djinns screaming in her mind.

" _ARE YOU CRAZY?" yelled Sitri_

" _MY KING, THERE IS SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR."_

" _PLEASE USE A DJINN EQUIP"_

 _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

 _Find those who have been scattered_

 _To retrieve that which has been shattered_

 _Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon_

 _Will help you mend what has been broken._

 _Permission from a king is required_

 _To achieve what is desired_

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece_

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes, she was still falling but the scenery had changed. She was no longer anywhere near the kingdom of Sasan; there was a large river valley for miles, wilderness and no sign of civilisation. Sakura grinned.

Grabbing her hair pin Sakura held it out

"SITRI"

 **That's all for now everyone, unfortunately I have one day before my university orientation and I'm freaking out. I might not be too bad at writing but when it comes to socialising-YIKES I have no vocabulary. Luckily I just might be able to update ONE more chapter before March and if I don't, I'm swamped with work or I'm dead.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	13. Welcome to Artemyra-ready your djinns!

**Hey everyone I know the update took long and was way passed the promisedeadline but I was having a bit of trouble with this part and I'm swamped with work from university however I will do my best to update as many of my stories as I can. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura had known the struggle of working hard to become stronger, the blood, sweat and tears put into everything you did in order to succeed, but no matter how many times she endured it, it was never easy. It had taken a lot of long hours of practice and training for Sakura to figure out how to do a full djinn equip, first using her magoi to bring about this equip, then finding a way to transform her entire body (sometimes resulting in a half transformation), then after she had to learn the advance abilities of her djinns that took even more effort. However after an entire year, she had mastered three djinn equips, the transformation and abilities of each individual djinn was in her hands and could do incredible things that would without a doubt be of help for her journey; Beleth was by far the most powerful, Stolas granted two elements and Sitri gave her incredible speed and she was able to control them all perfectly, but there was only one problem that she could no remedy no matter what...

"Dammit, why'd Sitri's djinn equip have to be so..." Sakura glanced at her form.

Her hair was changed to a light blue, white feathers held together by gold piping on one side around both her breasts, her bottom half was covered by a white material barely reaching her thighs, her feet lined with gold lacing twisting around her legs, she carried a large spear, white, twisting right before it reached the blade with feathers coming from its sides and a small tiara on top her head with a purple gem in the centre above her third eye. This was Sitri's djinn equip.

'And I couldn't possibly feel any breezier.'

Sakura flew above the land in haste searching for the sign of the next dungeon or king's candidate. Looking to the sky she knew that it wouldn't be long before a storm would break, which was going to be inconvenient. The clouds continued to grow darker, the remaining sun vanished behind them and a growling noise filled the sky, Sakura winced as she felt a few small droplets of water hit her exposed skin before she was pelted with them, thunder and lightning flashed through the sky.

'Great.'

* * *

The members of Sindria trading company took off from Sasan with their new addition and representative of Sasan; Mystras. Sinbad looked out at the mountains as they sailed further from Sasan; they already had their next destination set before they would be heading back to the company; where he'd probably be piled up with more work. The road to becoming a king wasn't an easy one. Since Sakura left there had to be some changes to ensure that business went as usual, that included Sinbad having to slack off a little less. While everyone knew Sakura played her part in the company was only after her disappearance that everyone saw just how big a role she played. Granted the first few weeks he focused on finding her because although he knew about Sakura's personal mission, he didn't think she would just up and leave without so much as a goodbye.

* * *

 _Sinbad was pacing back and forth in the room, it had been more than twenty four hours since Sakura went missing; he hadn't seen her since yesterday. When he woke up it wasn't from hearing Sakura's voice yelling at him to get his lazy ass out of bed, he thought she was already working but as the day went on he found that she wasn't with Vittel and Jafar doing admin, with Mahad and Hinahoho restocking or with Rurumu for lessons, she wasn't anywhere to be found and by the end of the day Sinbad had become frantic, after confirming with everyone that she hadn't been seen all day he immediately sent out a search party for her, he joined in as well going to all the places he believed she would go with no luck._

' _How hard is it to find a girl with pink hair!?'_

 _And so here he was, waiting in her room for her to return feeling like a pet waiting for their owner to return from work-or whatever the hell Sakura was doing since she wasn't at work. He glanced at her bed, the sheets were slightly wrinkled; her clothes were still in the closet and the few possessions she had were still there as well so there was no way she would've left._

' _There's no way,' Sinbad thought narrowing his eyes, he knew all along that Sakura had some personal goal she wanted to achieve; she told him she wasn't going to be sticking around forever but even so, as the days passed, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months it was like their conversation was nothing more than a fading memory bound by empty words. With a heavy breath Sinbad walked over to Sakura's bed and plopped down, instantly hit with an intoxicating scent-hers. Feeling himself calm, Sinbad closed his eyes and began to drift to sleep._

' _You wouldn't have just left me so easily right, Sakura?'_

* * *

He sure was wrong with the assumption; it seems the pinkette had left him as easily you would a stranger passing on the street, never remembering their name or face and it hurt when he concluded he must've not meant much to her; that really gave his heart a painful pull. He had told everyone Sakura left because she was fulfilling her own goal and that her position at the company they had already established was temporary but even so everyone was hurt; including him. Sakura had an uncommon charm that captivated those around her over time.

Sinbad did what he could to move passed it but when he saw her in Sasan, he had become ecstatic, when he chased after her, his felt this determination to catch her and never let her go. Then there was the undeniable anger when he saw her running away from him with Mystras. He had honestly restrained himself from forcing Sakura to join them again.

Gripping the end of the boat tightly Sinbad narrowed his eyes "Next time...I'm not letting go so easily."

* * *

Sakura narrowed her eyes, trying to strengthen her vision and see passed the heavy storm with little success, she moved at speeds that had the raindrops pelting on her skin so hard if she picked up the pace it would hurt. Despite how large they usually were, Sakura knew she was going to have trouble spotting a dungeon in this weather. All she saw was a valley that seemed to run for miles with and endless forest.

'Maybe I should stop for-

"AAAAAAHHHH"

After assuring herself it wasn't her imagination Sakura's eyes darted around trying to spot the source of the sudden scream and judging by the pitch it was a girl. How she heard it was strange given the wind, rain and thunder, so it had to be close-another concern given she was more than a hundred feet above ground.

Finally she spotted something in the distance, a very, very large bird trying to get through the storm avoiding the bolts of lightning though the situation wasn't looking too good. Sakura flew closer to get a better look; squinting her eyes Sakura then noticed the smallest dot of yellow on the bird and it was moving!

"What the-

A large bolt of lightning struck right in front of the bird causing it to go into a frenzy and pulled back quickly, the yellow dot that was on the bird fell off of its back; then Sakura realised that yellow dot was hair and attached to that was a young girl who was plummeting towards the valley.  
"AAAAAAHHHH"

"HOLD ON."

Sakura flew top speed ignoring the pelting rain, flying down, the girl continued to scream with fear as she fell from the sky. Sakura reached towards her as they neared the valley, she grabbed the girl with her free hand and pulled the girl towards her chest covering her from the harsh weather. The bird the girl was flying on came towards them and stopped right in front of Sakura before looking down at the little girl in her arms.

Not paying it much mind, Sakura flew down towards the valley.

* * *

'It's just one thing after another isn't it?' Sakura thought as she listened to the roaring of the storm and the crackling of the fire she had just built. After coming down to the valley she found shelter in a cave for herself the girl and the large bird that followed her down-seems like it was attached to the girl. Why there was a young girl who couldn't be any older than five give or take; riding a giant bird in a storm in the middle of nowhere was something Sakura really wanted to know.

"Nnh..."

Sakura gasped as she watched the girl's eyes flutter open, she began rubbing them.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked

The little girl looked up at Sakura and gasped when she saw her, Sakura quickly raised her hands in surrender.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," Sakura said with a reassuring tone "You got caught up in the storm and fell of your bird here."

The giant bird gently nudged the girls head with its beak as a sign of affection and she petted it in return before looking back at Sakura with a bewildered expression.

Sakura gave a gentle smile before holding out a piece of fruit towards her "Are you hungry?"

Eyeing it for only a moment the girl accepted it and took a bite.

"What's your name kid, mines Sakura."

"Pisti," the little girl responded with a mouthful of fruit

"Pisti," Sakura repeated "What a cute name, it suits you."

"S-Sakura too!" Pisti replied flattered.

Leaning back against the rocks Sakura spoke "So anyway, what were you doing all the way out here in the storm Pisti?"

"I was coming home when the storm started." Pisti explained to her

It then occurred to Sakura then that there must be some sort of village or town in this place, not the best location if you want to attract tourists but the perfect place if you want to be left in peace. The tough terrain would be more than enough to discourage travellers.

"Where do you live Pisti?" Sakura asked

"Artemyra,"

Sakura made began coughing so much it sounded like she was choking, she had heard about this place, a country controlled by a warrior princess or so everyone said, no one had actually made it to this country before. Though she wouldn't put money on it, chances were that the dungeon that appeared in this area might've been conquered by someone from that place, the only way to find out was to go there and aside from that, looking at Pisti; Sakura would make sure that she got home safely as well.

"Um, Sakura?"

"What is it?"

"You, you were flying earlier, I saw it in the storm."

Grinning Sakura pulled the hairpin from her clothing and presented it to Pisti "That's right, it's because of this. It allows me to transform and use this amazing power."

She demonstrated her ability by allowing Sitri's power to seep through and produce a small whirlwind around the pin.

Pisti gasped "Just like mama!"

"Huh?" Sakura asked, curiosity and interest peaked to the fullest "What do you mean?"

"Mama, can do that too!" Pisti said waving her arms around in excitement "Mama said that it was her reward for beating the tall tower that appeared!"

 _Beleth spoke "My king do you think-_

'Without a doubt,'

Whoever Pisti's mother was, she was the one who had conquered the dungeon here and now held the power of that djinn and the shard Sakura needed to collect.

Patting the girl's head Sakura smiled "Well Pisti, tomorrow I'll take you back home okay? It's too dangerous to go out in this storm now."

Pisti nodded her head excitedly "Okay"

"Let's get some sleep,"

" _Mmm, that was quicker than I expected." Sitri said sounding a little disappointed "I thought we'd get a little more action than that."_

" _I wouldn't get too confident Sitri," Stolas warned "We are yet to retrieve the shard."_

* * *

Morning couldn't have come sooner for Sakura, after breakfast she and Pisti set off towards Artemyra; they rode on the giant bird although Sakura was reluctant at first she got on with Pisti at the front. It was quite an amazing sight to see such a young girl able to do such an incredible thing. It made her wonder what everyone else in Artemyra was like. I was going to be interesting to find out.

"Neh Sakura," Pisti called looking back at the pinkette "You smell funny."

"Huh?" Sakura asked taking a quick sniff, it wasn't that long before she bathed, only a day had gone by so she couldn't have that bad-

"You smell sweet," Pisti finished "It's nice."

Sakura sighed in relief, as a girl she took her personal hygiene seriously quite seriously.

"Thank you Pisti,"

"I like your eyes too."

A small blush landed on Sakura's cheeks, flattered "R-really?"

"I've never seen eyes like yours before."

Sakura smiled, Pisti pointed down below and let out a squeal of excitement "We're here!"

Mouth wide open Sakura looked ahead of her at the country known as Artemyra and she was stunned, women with the same golden hair and magenta eyes flew on giant birds through the skies, there were buildings built right into the walls of the mountains, there were women working all around her but then she realised that she didn't see signs of any men.

"Wow...this place is amazing."

She saw giant bird nests built into the mountain as well, there were only women riding on them though. She wanted to ask where all the men were in this place but reframed from asking Pisti just in case, she didn't want to overstep any boundaries she wasn't aware of and least of all she didn't want to overstep those boundaries with a small child.

"That's where I live."

Pisti pointed to a giant building further from the other homes, it stood out from the rest, not just in size but structure as well, the build was like a palace and that left a terrible realisation.

"Pisti...who exactly is your mother?"

"Mama's the queen."

'Oh god,' Sakura groaned slapping her forehead

"Pisti, what kind of person is your mother exactly?" Sakura asked with a nervous tone

Pisti seemed to think for a moment "Mama's really nice and really strong, but she said she doesn't like men."

"Oh, okay."

* * *

The second Pisti and Sakura landed in front of the palace they were surrounded by guards, women carrying spears surrounded them. Pisti didn't look concerned in the slightest as Sakura jumped off keeping her in her arms.

"I'm back!" Pisti waved at them

"Princess Pisti where have you been? Your mother has been worried about you?"

Pisti giggled "I got stuck in the storm yesterday but Sakura saved me."

The female guard turned her attention to Sakura and the pinkette could see the slight suspicion in her eyes.

"Who are you?"

She didn't waver when answering "My names Sakura, I'm a traveller and I would like to speak with your queen."

Straight and to the point, if there was a chance to not waste time she would gladly take it right now.

"What business do you have with our queen?"

"Well I assume she would want to know of the person who saved her daughter from falling victim to the elements of a deadly storm that almost killed her."

Before there was a reply another voice cut through the crowd, this one full of authority and power that Sakura recognised from all those times she stood beside her teacher when she as assigning missions.

"That's enough; I will take it from here."

Coming through the crowd, there was a woman with long bright blonde hair, she was dressed in a white dress different than the other women who were all dressed in a light pink, and she carried a golden staff with her and wore a crown.

She looked at Pisti and her face softened "Pisti,"

"Mama" Pisti greeted smiling at her mother

"Where have you been?" asked the queen

Climbing out of Sakura's arms Pisti rushed to her mother's "Mama, Sakura saved me, she's got the same power like mama,"

The queen turned to look up at Sakura with an unreadable face "Why don't we discuss this inside?"

* * *

Pisti was taken somewhere else in the palace while Sakura and the queen went to the throne room; it was basically am empty open hall with a chair in the centre. Sakura bowed in respect to the queen.

"It is an honour to meet you queen of Artemyra," Sakura said politely not forgetting Rurumu's etiquette lessons.

"My name is Mira Dianus Artemyra," she said

"Again it's an honour, I am Sakura Haruno."

Mira raised an eyebrow at Sakura's curiously "I thank you for helping my daughter and returning her to me, but I would like to know why exactly."

"It was mere coincidence your highness, she fell of her bird and I saved her. We sheltered for the night in the valley and then made our way here the next morning."

"And why have you come to Artemyra Sakura?"

Sakura looked in to the queens eyes, she had a such a raw sense of power showing clearly that she was making herself appear intimidating and most would've wavered at the sight but Sakura-having trained with the leader of their village, a women who had both the intimidating aura as well as strength to back it up well after dealing with that for two years Sakura wasn't the least bit unhinged.

"I'm not going to lie, your highness, I believe that a tall tower appeared somewhere in this area not too long ago, from what Pisti told me, you have acquired the power of that tower-a dungeon."

Mira narrowed her eyes at the young girl "So you know of dungeons?"

Holding out her hand Sakura called "Beleth,"

Dark flames emerged and surrounded her, never touching the ground or burning the floor before they vanished "I have,"

Mira's eyes were now shining with interest "A young girl like yourself, travelling alone and having captured a dungeon?"

Sakura nodded "Yes, actually I have captured more than one."

"And you're here because you want to achieve more djinns power?" the queen asked leaning on her hand

"No, it is not the djinns power I want but what the djinns currently possess." Sakura dug into her shirt and pulled out the mirror "The djinns possess these shards that I need to complete this mirror; it's a personal goal that I must achieve at all costs. That's why..." Sakura bowed her head "I beg of you to let me see your metal vessel and get the shard from it."

Mira was silent for a minute which seemed like hours to Sakura who continued to keep her head bowed in respect, this woman reminded her somewhat of Tsunade minus the drinking and gambling problem, she was full of pride.

She heard the queen chuckle "Raise your head."

Sakura did as told as she held the queens gaze.

"You peak my interest Sakura Haruno, I wasn't aware that there were women like you out there. These days when I hear of the outside world, all I discover is the dominating power and position men hold over the rest of the world, that is why I despise them so greatly, they are all filled with nothing but greed and lustful ambitions. Keeping women under their foot so to discover such a find as yourself...well I can't help but want to know more about you."

Mira stood up from her position "Very well then, I shall give you permission to claim the shard from my metal vessel."

Sakura held a calm face though inside she could feel her heart pounding and a smile threatening to break across her face "Thank you your-

"But there is a condition."

Sakura froze "A condition?"

Queen Mira gave a kind of malicious grin.

* * *

Sakura and the queen stood in front of the palace, no one else around each holding a glimmer in their eyes, the gentle breeze blew across. Sakura stood her ground watching the queens every move preparing herself for the inevitable. Sakura let out a quite breath as she allowed her body to relax, the condition she was given was to prove her worth to the queen after that she was taken outside and now they were having a bit of a stare down.

"I have yet to test my abilities against another dungeon capturer," Mira said "It's something I've wanted for a while now and it would be foolish of me to pass up this chance."

Sakura nodded "Alright and seeing as how it would be unfair since you only have one djinn, I'll only use one-

"By all means use them all."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly "Huh?"

"I do not want a boring battle; give me something that will make me see your worth. Do not hold back," ordered the queen "Is that understood?"

Sakura smirked this time "Certainly... "OH SPIRIT OF STRENGTH AND DISCORD HEED MY CALL; USE MY MAGOI AND GRANT ME POWER TO DESTROY ME ENEMY; BELETH."

Queen Mira smirked as she watched Sakura transform, the black flames didn't graze her "Impressive, but now it's my turn." Holding up her staff she began to chant "My servant of sternness and fascination. Take shelter within me. Transform my body into that of a great Magnus. CERBERUS."

The queens djinn equip Cerberus gave the queen two golden stature like figures on either side of her identical to the queen, a long white piece of fabric wrapped around her waist with golden armour covering her breasts, her staff was transformed as well and there was a gold ring like a halo hovering above her head.

After a brief stare down and assessing one another's forms and then took to the sky, now soaring above Artemyra. The queen, with a widened grin, attacked first swinging her staff at Sakura to which the pinkette avoided in the sky. Then she countered by firing her flames in the direction of the Artemyra queen.

Just as the flames seemed like they were going to hit their target Mira shifted her shoulder pointing the statue of gold at the fire "Bararaq"

Sakura gasped as she watched lightning come out of the heads mouth and cancel out her attack, it was surprising but now Sakura knew the queen's djinn controlled lightning. And if she recalled those few times she sparred against Sinbad, both djinns were similar in power standard.

"So your highness, your djinn wields the power of lightning."

Mira smirked, but Sakura saw a glint in her eye that gave her a chill "Yes...it does and now feel its power. BARARAQ"

Frowning Sakura began flying back to avoid the blast, there wasn't much point in throwing her flames since it wouldn't make for much of a counter if they were just going to continue to cancel each other out. Sakura continued to doge the lightning being aimed at her through the sky, there were many spectators down below, the women of Artemyra looking up at their queen doing battle with Sakura. Completely silence and entranced at the sight of battle.

"This won't make for much of a fight if you keep the offensive," said the queen pulling back, she placed a hand on her hip and frowned "If you want the shard, you need to live up to my expectations as another female dungeon conqueror."

Sakura chuckled, her shoulders shook "Of course, but it wouldn't make for much of a battle of all we do is cancel each other's attacks out as well..."

"Then how about this!"

The second statue's mouth began to glow and then shot out a powerful blast of ice hitting Sakura head on; the pinkette winced as she felt the sharp shards pierce into her skin.

"I-ICE?" Sakura hissed

"That's right, Cerberus is a three headed djinn one governs ice and the other governs lightning and I the main body governs fire. I hold the djinn that houses three elements. You cannot hope to defeat me even with two djinns

Sakura stared at her opponent with a calm expression "Is that right?"

"Why don't I prove it?"

The skies above Artemyra flashed with colours and the atmosphere continued to change with each of the dungeon conquerors attacks. Eyes were to the fight, no one wanted to miss a second of it. Two dominant women trying to subdue one another, their determination to win could be felt all around and seen as they clashed over and over.

Sakura and Mira drew away from one another, having another stare off as they caught their breath, both were panting heavily, their bodies marred with marks but neither had been able to deal a fatal blow yet.

"As expected, this indeed is a battle you cannot get from a man," commented the queen smiling as she wiped the sweat from her chin.

"Well, I wouldn't completely agree with that." Sakura said, her shoulders slouched forward "I've met someone who might change your opinion of men."

Mira raised an eyebrow "And here I was beginning to think we shared the same views of men."

Sakura chuckled "If we had more time to speak, I'm sure we would find that we do, but at some point you'll find that one man that just isn't quite like the rest."

Raising an eyebrow and cocking her head to the side she asked "Have you met a man like that?"

Images of Naruto, Sasuke and Sinbad flashed through her mind and suddenly she wasn't feeling as exhausted "Three of them."

Queen Mira didn't respond watching as Sakura straightened her shoulders.

"It seems this won't be as easy as I thought, your djinns power is unlike anything I've ever faced before and at this rate I won't be able to satisfy you or win...So why don't I fix that."

Sakura began falling towards earth as her djinn equip vanished, she brought out Sitri's hair pin "Dwell in my body...Sitri!"

A giant tornado swirled around Sakura, the powerful wind could be felt by the citizen's bellow despite the fact that the giant cyclone wasn't touching the ground. When it cleared the queen saw Sakura now in a new djinn equip.

"This is your second djinns equip?" asked Mira

Sakura smiled in response, she held her spear towards Mira and without a word charged, their weapons clashed with a loud clanging sound each time, there was a surge of energy put into every strike as the two powerful women tried to overpower one another, both stood their grounds and continued. Sakura discovered that while in her equip forms she couldn't summon up her chakra because the two energies would clash inside her body and cancel each other out (something she found out the hard way) so now her physical strength was no longer super human, but still outdone a normal person who didn't train however with Sitri's djinn equip her speed was far greater than a normal person and a ninja.

She whizzed through the hair like a blur, the queen was having trouble keeping up as her darted around.

'How is this possible!?' Mira wondered as she blocked another one of Sakura's attacks 'This speed...is unreal.'

Sakura appeared behind the queen and landed in a hit from behind pushing her back, flying away Mira glared at her opponent.

"Sitri harnesses the power of wind and allows me to move at incredible speeds," Sakura explained holding her spear up "But that's not all she can do..."

At the tip of the spear a bright light emitted and then a huge twister formed, Sakura aimed it at Mira and watched as she was swept up by it. Mira clenched her teeth as she felt herself spinning around, she could see Sakura watching her from the outside with a calm expression.

"It's over."

"I DON'T THINK SO."

Raising her staff Mira called upon all three of her djinns at once, ice, lightning and fire surrounded her effectively freeing her from the cyclone prison.

"It will take more than that to defeat me." Mira said crossing her arms "You can throw however many attacks you want at me but I will always be able to counter them with my own djinn. While you may have one more djinn than me, I still outnumber you in use of power."

"Two." Sakura said

"What was that?"

The smile that spread across Sakura's face, the way her eyes narrowed made the queen fly a few feet to the back.

"I said I have captured more than one dungeon, I didn't say I only captured two."

 **That's all for now, I wanted to finish the fight scene in one chapter but I don't have the time university just started for me now and I wanted to get this posted as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Don't forget to review !**


	14. Leaving the queen-staying for her king

**Well everyone here's the next chapter, it's not as long as the others but I did my best with what** little **time I have now. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

A dark cloud of ominous looking magenta _coloured_ mist began forming above the skies of Artemyra; a silhouette held still in the centre. The queen of Artemyra watched cautiously as she felt a certain shifting, a few seconds later Sakura emerged from the mist changed, her hair had become as long as her body and had a light purple shade to it, her hair on top came out in a wing-like pattern, her eyes changed to a deep shade of pink, blue feathers decorated her skin from her feet that had become the talons of bird to her thighs, gold accessories with jewels wrapped around her legs, arms and neck, a long dark purple skirt with large slits to her waist were lined with gold piping and a small piece of purple material that wrapped around her shoulders and breasts, a big round red gem hanging from her neck and a large gold staff coming out in a diamond with a blade at the end covered in rubies.

"Th-Three...you have three djinns!?" Mira exclaimed in disbelief backing further from the girl.

Holding out her staff the mist that formed in the sky gathered around it spiralling around the weapons.

Mira grinned "Well no matter...this just makes things more interesting!"

Quick to attack Mira aimed her lightning at Sakura; she didn't even bother to move out of the way and allowed herself to be hit head on, Mira smirked thinking she had been victorious only to find that went the smoke cleared Sakura stood perfectly safe.

"How is this possible?"

She recalled all her others attacks worked on Sakura when she was hit, so what exactly was the difference here.

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked with a wide grin "Perhaps you've run out of energy? Why not call it quits?"

Becoming enraged at the mocking tone Mira didn't hesitate to fly full speed to Sakura and attack with everything she had, their weapons clashed, the staff Mira held cut through the mist and hit the sword.

Sakura then muttered something under her breath that caused her staff to produce a bright light "Alttashuwwuh dab"

The mist around Sakura's staff spread around the two and then vanished like nothing. Mira pulled back and looked around.

"What did you just do?"

Then Sakura attacked.

Mira held up her staff glaring up at the young female ninja as she felt her arms tremble, why this happened was something she questioned, for some reason Sakura's attacks seemed stronger? Heavy?

After a good minute of struggling Sakura pushed Mira back, but didn't give her time to recover and counter before she continued her assault, never giving Mira a chance to use her djinns lightning, fire or ice magic.

'What's going on?' Mira wondered wincing as Sakura struck another blow pushing her further towards the ground

"Th-that djinn equip of yours, it made you physically more powerful didn't it?"

After another powerful hit Sakura drew back "You're feeling it aren't you? That mist Stolas produces using both ice and heat magic channelled through my staff is a poison that messes with the body, its sense and even magic. You think that my attacks have gotten stronger but the fact is I'm at the exact same level of power as was with my other djinns, you breathed the mist that works its way through the body-weakening it, and soon you're not going to be able to move at all."

Mira realised that she could feel it, her body wanting to collapse on itself, it was as if she was beginning to feel like she couldn't hold her own weight.

'This is the djinns power?' she wondered

Sakura placed a finger to her chin in thought "Of course there is a trump card to being poisoned like this, while it makes you physically weaker your magic abilities will become more powerful balancing it out. Truth be told after I released this mist, I'm unable to use any magic attacks."

Mira gasped, if that was true then she could still win! Sakura basically admitted to being completely powerless. Against a magic attack as she was now-

Drawing her staff towards Sakura, Mira began to feel magic pour out in the form of flames before throwing it with all her remaining strength. Sakura didn't move as the giant ball of fire hurled towards her.

"It seems you were right," the queen said "I've never unleashed such a powerful attack before-unfortunately for you, it's over."

There was a huge explosion heard throughout Artemyra, Mira watched with a grin as she waited for the smoke to clear but was shocked when she saw Sakura standing without so much as a single scratch on her-AND SHE WAS IN BELETHS DJINN EQUIP NOW.

Hand held high in the air Sakura flung her attack at Mira. "Khilaf Nar"

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Sakura watched queen Mira fell from the sky, her djinn equip vanishing. Sakura swooped down and caught her, holding the women closely as she descended towards the grounds of the palace, once landing Sakura placed Mira down and then collapsed to her ground herself, she panted heavily feeling like the last of her magoi was drained during that final attack.

Looking at the queen who in turn looked at Sakura she spoke "Well your highness?"

"Thank you...for that incredible battle Sakura."

The pinkette smiled at her "You're welcome, your highness. You are very strong...so have I met your condition?"

"Indeed you have." Mira said grabbing hold of her staff from the floor and forcing herself to stand up, she held out her hand to Sakura.

Sakura gratefully accepted the hand and pulled herself up "Thank you."

"Now," Mira said smiling "Before I hand you the shard there is something I really must insist upon."

Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion "Huh?"

"Well, for giving me such an amazing battle I feel I must repay you with far more than a simple piece of broken glass"

* * *

"Ah, it suits you as I thought!" the queen clapped her hands in amusement, grinning ear to ear as she eyed the pinkette who emerged from the large curtain.

"Um, your highness..." Sakura trailed nervously looking down at her form; her former clothes replaced by the Artemyra women's clothing, a light pink top with cut off sleeves and large diamond shape cut down the centre from her chest to her stomach exposing a bit of both, she wore a long skirt with it but kept her shorts under.  
The queen frowned as she walked around Sakura "There is something missing..."

"Mama," Pisti called rushing into the room up to them "Is Sakura finished?"

"Almost," Mira smiled

When Pisti turned to look at Sakura she smiled and held up a red feather, something that most of the women seemed to wear as hair accessories here.

"For me?" Sakura asked crouching down and letting Pisti put it in her hair

"The feather represents the rukh bird of luck in our country." Mira said before smiling "Now that's much better, your clothes were all dirty and tattered."

"Your highness, I'm not entirely sure what the point was in all of this."

Mira crossed her arms "Those old rags of yours were rather dirty besides, these are much more form fitting don't you think?"

Sakura pulled her face and glanced at herself in the long body length mirror "I guess but I'm not really one to care about what I wear and that's not what I meant."

"Artemyra has never allowed outsiders inside its borders before; we are unfamiliar of what to do when hosting an honoured guest but we will do our best to treat you as one of our own."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow "I'm an honoured guest now?"

"Of course; as queen I declare it as such and because of that I would like to show you the greatest hospitality Artemyra has to offer."

Sakura let out a soft sigh "Your highness I'm flattered honest, but all I want is the shard and I can be on my way."

Mira flicked her wrist dismissively "And you shall have it, but first I must insist that you stay with us for a bit. I would like to learn more about you and your journey and I'm sure Pisti wouldn't mind having you around as well."

Sakura looked down at the little girl who was practically beaming at her, causing Sakura to give a nervous smile. She couldn't leave until she got that shard and with Mira yet to give her permission that wasn't going to happen, she could try brute force but she doubted that would work on a women like Mira. Her only option right now would be to wait.

'Crap,'

" _Come now my king, rest after a battle is what's best for the mind and body" said Stolas_

" _Indeed," agreed Beleth "You're not in a good shape to take on another dungeon or dungeon capturer."_

" _Yeah take advantage of their hospitality and tour this place-you'll literally be the first outsider to do that! Have some fun!"_

Even her djinns were against her on this one.

* * *

Sinbad stared out in awe with Mystras as they took in the new scenery, the ship was currently sailing through a large ravine surrounded by giant rock walls, the two were so engrossed in the sights that they failed to hear Ja'far's ramblings about making preparations before they reached their next destination, the kingdom of Artemyra. They were finally granted access into the country after exchanging many letters with them nearly an entire year. Rurumu had taken care of the exchanges though, so it was Sinbad's job as head of Sindria trading company to meet with the leader of Artemyra.

What worried Ja'far was that their great leader was looking around with his head in the clouds like some kind of tourist.

"It's so hot here." Hinahoho complained fanning himself

Mystras noticed something above the boat and looked up before gasping as he saw what looked like a bird's silhouette hovering.

"A bird?"

Sinbad placed his hand on his hip "It looks like a bird but..." the creature came closer and Sinbad exclaimed "It's huge!"

The bird was bigger than the width of the boat they were in, what's more there were two girls sitting on top of it. They seemed to take note of the Sindria crew and drew nearer beside the boat.

"Well that's rare; they are travellers from the outside."

The second girl sitting behind the first gave them a friendly wave "Hey there!"

Mystras put his hands together and blushed "Amazing, pretty girls!"

"Hey you guys," called the first girl "If you manage to get safely to Artemyra, we can have a little fun."

"But what will happen to you? A few days ago we saw totally exhausted men but we believe in you so good luck."

Sinbad's face drew into a sly smirk "Yes we understand, so wait for tonight."

The girls blushed before the first stuttered quickly in fluster "Are you an idiot? We weren't serious."

With that they took off leaving behind Sinbad and his crew.

Sinbad watched with a grin "Well this trip just got a little more interesting."

As he continued to stare out, seeming to space off Ja'far smacked him at the back of his head making him yelp in pain.

"Ja'far!"

"Don't even think about it," warned the young boy "You are not going to cause trouble for us before we even reach our destination, so quite fantasising!"

"I was thinking how good those outfits they were wearing would look on Sakura!" Sinbad interjected quickly before he could really fathom the words coming from his mouth.

Ja'far rolled his eyes "Yeah sure you were; that's why you tried to score with those girls. What do you think Sakura would say if she saw you doing that?"

"It was harmless flirting," Sinbad defended holding up his hands "I would never-

"Spare me the lies." Ja'far said holding up his hand before he let out a sigh "If Sakura was still here, she'd be able to keep you in check and I wouldn't have to deal with you and your tendencies as much...I really miss her."

Mystras chided in as well "I don't really understand something, Sakura's travelling on her own right now but before; she was with Sinbad-sama and everyone else?"

Sinbad nodded "Yeah but she had her own reasons for travelling and took off."

"I know that but..." Mystras trailed

"Anyway," Ja'far said looking back at Sinbad "Why are you bringing Sakura up now? You haven't mentioned her since we left Sasan."

Sinbad shrugged "To be honest, a part of me hasn't been able to stop thinking about her."

"Which part?" Ja'far asked sceptically

Sinbad grinned "All of them-and they don't usually agree."

Ja'far winced and shivered "Looks like Sakura made a break for it just in time."

"Hey!"

While Ja'far and Sinbad began bickering Mystras went to stand beside Hinahoho and leaned towards him.

"Hinahoho-san, were Sinbad-sama and Sakura...?"

Hinahoho shook his head "Not as far as I knew, they were usually with each other more than anyone else but their relationship seemed to be strictly platonic."

Mystras nodded, though he let out a soft sigh that sounded like...relief? "I see."

"Well other times their relationship looked like it was something more-but my wife told me that Sakura is actually-"

Hinahoho cut himself off, he had a disturbing feeling in the pit of his stomach that was telling him it would be unwise to divulge this kind of information.

"What is it?" asked Mystras, he had a persistent look on his face.

Hinahoho sighed; well he had already said most of it "She told me Sakura claimed to be in love with someone else,"

* * *

Sakura sneezed and rubbed her nose suspiciously, was she getting a cold she wondered. Before she could give it another thought someone came running behind her and covered her eyes with their hands. Sakura laughed knowing who it was.

"Pisti, what are you doing?"

"Aw, you knew..." the young Artemyra princess whined pulling back

Sakura smiled as the girl placed herself comfortably on Sakura's lap, a few days had gone by since Sakura had come to this country-actually it was more like a few weeks, taking her djinns advice Sakura had spent her time exploring the mysterious country Artemyra and what she found didn't disappoint. There was a role reversal here in almost every aspect of life' the men were the ones who took care of the domestic affairs and children while the women were the ones who earned the bread and did most of the manual labour. Another fun fact she discovered was that at the Red light district where there were 'entertainment' centres, there were only men working there. While in other places all you would find were women who were entertaining men.

Sakura had nearly fallen over when the queen suggested she take a trip there-to which Sakura politely declined.

'I'm not Sinbad,' Sakura thought shaking her head, he would go just about anywhere he could find women.

The queen had certainly done a good job at making Sakura feel welcome after their battle, she had a room prepared for her in the palace, there was a banquette held for her where Sakura tasted some of the most unique foods she had ever seen before, in the day time Sakura spent most of her time with Pisti flying around on the bird, the other daughters had also taken a liking to her and every night Sakura would sit with them in their room and tell them stories of her travels (give or take a few details that may or may not be appropriate for them). The queen would also sit in for a few of her stories when she had time.

Though Sakura was running short on patience, as pleasant as Artemyra was compared to Sasan and some other hostile places she had been to before, Sakura was still on a mission that was far from finished, every time she looked at that half finished mirror it reminded her, two years have already gone by and it was possibly going to take another two-if not more at the pace she was going.

'I have to ask the queen for the shard as soon as I get the-

"Mama wants to see you," Pisti said placing her hands on top of Sakura's.

"Alright..."

'Well that was sooner than I thought,'

* * *

"You're having visitors?" Sakura asked her voice laced with curiosity, as she recalled there wasn't anyone who had managed to reach Artemyra and the people themselves weren't really keen on having visitors anyway.

"Well," Mira began leaning back against her desk chair, they were currently both seated in her study it was a large room, white walls free of any cluster that you would normally find in studies, a single shelve of scrolls packed right behind the desk.

"You see, recently I've been exchanging letters with a company head and now we've arranged to meet in person for the first time. They want to establish a relationship with my country and be allowed to trade with us."

To say Sakura was surprised would be an understatement, this sounded a little too familiar to be a coincidence and she wasn't going to take chance in not asking.

"Um, your highness, what is the name of the company?" Sakura had a hint of nervousness laced in her voice as she felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead.

"Sindria trading company, I believe."

Sakura felt like her eyes were about to bulge out of her head, this had to be some kind of sick game fate was playing on her. First Sasan and now Artemyra?

" _The next time, you're not getting away so easily."_

'I have to get out of here now,' Sakura thought remembering Sinbad's warning. He was a lot of things but Sakura knew how persistent he was and she didn't think he was joking when he said that.

"Your highness," Sakura began straightening her shoulders "I know that this is of short notice but I really need to leave as soon as possible,"

Mira seemed slightly surprised as she rested her chin on her hands "Oh, so soon? I was hoping you would stay a while...I suppose you want the djinn's shard before then?"

Sakura nodded strongly, she had every right to ask for it; after all she earned it fair and square.

"That's fair." Mira said "I won't deny you your prize, course I was hoping you would stay a little longer, at least be here to welcome our guests and maybe help size them up?"

Oh Sakura could do that easily enough but she wasn't about to risk it. Sinbad coming to Artemyra while she was still there did not bode well for her after the last time she ran into him.

Mira sighed "Alright, you can prepare to take your leave while I deal with the visitors,"

Sakura really wanted to insist that she leaves sooner "Please your highness I-

"At least stay for lunch, you can leave straight after. I imagine the girls will be quite devastated for your departure, it would be nice if you could spend one last moment with them." Mira insisted, it was like she knew that Sakura was going to beg to leave sooner and she wouldn't have it. Sakura sighed in defeat, so long as she didn't run into Sinbad she should be fine.

"Of course your highness,"

* * *

Sakura groaned as she finished packing her things-which wasn't really too much. After that she tidied up the room which also didn't take as long, she might have been a bit of a slob in her own home, her mother would always fight with her to put her shoes away, fold her laundry, learn how to make her own meals but those were things she didn't really have time for but this was different, she was in someone else's home-a queens no less and she couldn't risk disrespecting it when there was something so important at risk for her. Just as she finished her door flew open and seven little blonde girls came rushing in with distorted expressions on their faces.

"Sakura!"

"Sakura-san!"

"Sakura-nee!"

"Saku-nee!"

"Saki!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura!"

Sakura spun around to see the seven Artemyra princesses all with pleading looks as they stood in front of her door, she spotted a few tears in some of their eyes.

"Is it true?"

"Are you really leaving now?"

Sakura gave a gentle smile "That's right."

"But why!"

Oh how was she going to put this?

"Something...came up and I really need to be on my way today. Your mother insisted I stay for lunch, but after that I'll be leaving right away."

All seven girls whined before each began protesting, their words getting mixed with each other Sakura couldn't really hear them individually but she did catch 'no', 'please don't go', 'stay a little longer', 'stay here forever with us', 'don't leave' and such.

Sakura quickly held up her hand silencing the girls in an instant, her eyes turning firm "Look, I've loved staying here with you girls and Artemyra is a wonderful place but I have something important that I've been putting off for too long as it is. So it's time for me to leave, nothing's going to change that. So in our last moments together you girls can either pout and be angry about it, or we can have a memorable time before I depart."

The answer was a no brainer.

* * *

A few hours passed by quickly, Sakura and the princesses went flying around Artemyra on their birds, they ended up having a picnic at lunch and set up on the outskirts on a high cliff overlooking the city, apparently queen Mira was still occupied with the visitors; it was Sinbad she was meeting with so Sakura didn't find it surprising. Though she was a little worried, knowing Sinbad and his habits he might actually disregard Mira's position as queen and see her as another attractive women to hit on.

'No, come on even he's not that stupid' Sakura told herself

'I hope,'

When Mira finally did return to the palace Sakura was informed and went to her immediately, what she noticed instantly was that the queen looked disturbingly pleased...it was the look that reminded her of Tsunade whenever she pummelled someone.

"Um, how was your afternoon your highness?" Sakura asked carefully

Mira grinned widely and leaned back in her throne "Oh eventful, I met with the leader of the Sindria company-I had thought it was a women called Rurumu who I had been conversing with in those letters but it was a man who called himself Sinbad, he was with three other men as well-well actually two men and a child."

No doubt Hinahoho, Mystras and Ja'far since there would be no way they could get to Artemyra so soon after going all the way back to Reim. They would have to take a trip straight here.

"I see," Sakura began "And how did the meeting go?"

Mira pulled out something gold and held it up to display "I discovered something rather interesting...it turns out that the leader was also a dungeon capturer."

Sakura's eyes widened as she heard Beleth's voice call out in alarm **"My king, that's-**

'Valefor's metal vessel,'

"R-really another dungeon capturer?" asked Sakura straining her voice to keep calm.

"A multiple dungeon capturer like yourself," Mira replied bringing out the sword that contained Baal.

Now Sakura was officially panicking, what exactly had the queen done with Sinbad, Ja'far, Mystras and Hinahoho?

"Oh...I would really like to hear about him," Sakura said forcing a smile

"Not much to hear though. He and his subordinates met with me and when I discovered there wasn't a woman with them, I opted to send them away unharmed but then, their young leader Sinbad dared to lay his hands on me and attempted to seduce me into submission in which I retaliated."

Sakura swallowed "How?"

Mira's smirk grew wide "By throwing him and his friends in the Valley of the dead, our countries deepest ravine."

Sakura hide the expression of shock but she quickly recovered, given the circumstances she didn't think it would be a good idea to let Mira know that her favourite guest was close to those who had offended her. She still had to think of the consequence for herself.

"With all due respect your highness, isn't that a bit extreme?"

"He greatly offended me, so I do not think so." Mira said flicking her wrist "I will not be made a fool of by any man, especially an outsider"

"Yes of course but-

Mira raised her eyebrow in suspicion "Why do you seem so fixated on defending these barbarians?"

Sakura stopped herself "I-I'm not, it-it's just that I find this form of retribution to be a bit...too excessive."

She wasn't even sure if she was using that word right.

Mira leaned back "Well if they're alive they probably won't be for long, there's nothing in that ravine that they can survive on and without metal vessels they have no way of returning to the top."

 **Sitri burst out laughing "Oooh king your lover sounds like he's in real trouble now!"**

" **This is quite a dilemma," Stolas sighed "Perhaps you are right we should take our leave now,"**

That's something she would've really liked to do and had she not just heard the story, Sakura would've already been gone after getting the queens shard but now thanks to Sinbad there was no way she could possibly leave until he and everyone else was out of that ravine safely.

"Oh yes Sakura, I do apologise for the delay but I did not forget," Mira said holding up her staff and ushering the pinkette towards her "Come,"

Sakura stepped forward taking the mirror and holding it towards the staff, both objects began to emit a light before vanishing; Sakura examined the looking glass again and saw another shard placed. At least that was one thing covered and had Sinbad kept himself in check that might've been all Sakura needed to do to wrap up her business in Artemyra but now-she was going to have to find a way to help him and his friends he got thrown into a valley.

She was going to have to do something else first though

"Thank you, your highness," Sakura began "With this I can continue my journey."

Mira nodded "I wish you everything of the best,"

Sakura looked down solemnly "It's just that...after spending this time with your girls, I-I do really wish to leave just yet."

Mira's eyes sparked with interest and...Excitement "You're asking me if you could remain here a while longer?"

Sakura continued shouting 'Dammit' in her head over and over and she put on her best smile and nodded trying to appear genuine as possible "I really would like to stay-only for a bit longer."

Mira clapped her hands "Then it is done."

" **My king..." Beleth began groaning**

" **Oh dear..." Stolas trailed**

" **This is hilarious!" Sitri cackled**

Sakura clenched her fists in boiling hot rage 'Sinbad, you better still be alive when I find you-BECUASE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU.'

 **There we go, that's all for now, I'm not sure when I'm going to update, I doubt it will be very soon because I have all these assignments now due-damn we get a lot of essays for university! Anyway, be sure to tell me what you think and Review!**

 **Bye for now!**


	15. Goodby-No-See you soon

**I know it's been a really long time since I've updated but university is killing all of my time. I'm trying to focus most of my free time on my essays (should not have taken three majors). Also if you read the other stories, you can go and take a look at my deviant art page where I've done a bit of photo editing to promote my stories. The user names Katsura369, actually the one who inspired this was one of my readers Chibi Shiro Kitsu AKA** **mizuainami** **(One deviantart)**

 **You can see Sakura's djinn equip of Beleth as well from her and I will also be posting the rest of Sakura's djinn equip soon. I also plan on bringing to life a few special scenes in the stories.**

 **Now back to the story...While I don't like spoilers I should say that something very interesting is going to happen at the end of this chapter SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY.**

* * *

'I swear when I get my hands on that womanizing son of a-

" _Language my king!" exclaimed Beleth "Lately the one you have been using is not befitting a king or a lady"_

Sakura was fuming for the last hour, trying to calm herself down but that didn't look like it was possible. The fact that she was putting her journey on hold for Sinbad's sake after he so recklessly caused trouble with the queen angered her to no end. She had waited till nightfall since none of the little princesses were leaving her alone after they found out she was going to be staying a bit longer now in Sitri's djinn equip, Sakura was flying over the valley of death in search of Sinbad and his friends.

"I can't believe that idiot went and flirted with her!" Sakura growled "Of course she threw him into a valley, serves him right stupid asshole,"

" _Such harsh words and yet our beloved king is going out of her way to save the stupid as-_

" _Sitri not you to!" bellowed Beleth_

 _Stolas sighed "These humans are so...ah, my king why not find yourself a less troubling lover?"_

Sakura pulled her face, scrunching in what appeared to be disgust "He is not my lover Stolas, he barely qualifies for a friend right now."

And yet why did she feel her heart clench a little? Something like that hadn't happened since-

'Sasuke'

* * *

"I am going to kill Sinbad," Sakura swore under her breath for the hundredth time that day, she had been looking all over but there was still no sign of him or his friends anywhere in the valley, she was beginning to think they might not be there at all. And that was not a comforting thought since the only other option there was if they weren't there was that-

" _I think they're dead king, 'Sitri said "Such a shame,"_

" _Could you be anymore insensitive?" asked Stolas_

" _I could but I thought it might be too soon,"_

"Would you three please just shut up," Sakura ordered to be met with silence thankfully. She wasn't sure she could handle the ramblings of her djinn any longer. Hours had gone by since she began her search but the valley was too big, appearing endless.

Finally she heard something unusual-not unusual in the sense that it was unnatural but unusual in the sense that this wasn't something she should be hearing in a valley.

"Mm, you know Ja'far I'd never thought I'd say this but you're really good at cooking snake."

"I told you before, from my old assassin days I use to eat snakes all the time."

"Ja'far-san thank you!"

"You're welcome Mystras,"

Sakura let out a sound of surprise and relief as she sped towards the sources of the voices, down below gathered around a fire cooking snakes she spotted Sinbad, Mystras and Ja'far, two problems though, Hinahoho wasn't with them and secondly-THEY WERE ALL NAKED.

Sakura squeaked and covered her eyes, they were all going commando the only thing that covered them below was a leaf….

" _How do you think they keep it in place my king?" asked Beleth curiously_

Sakura blushed "I don't know and don't ask me such-

" _Don't you think that Sinbad's leaf may be big for-?_

'OKAY NEXT DJINN TO COMMENT ON THEIR LEAVES GOES INTO THE RIVER' Sakura mentally _screamed_ before deciding to head over to them when Stolas's voice cut in.

" _Just a moment my king," Stolas said "Is this wise?"_

"Is what wise Stolas?"

" _Revealing yourself to them after you went through all this trouble to avoid them?"_

Sakura stopped

" _Next time you won't get away so easy." Sinbad whispered_

Though he may not have meant to, Sakura felt a tad threatened with Sinbad's final goodbye. He sounded so certain that they were going to run into each other again and she hated to make him right. There was something about the tone of Sinbad's voice and his aura that shook her to her core, it didn't sound like a warning-it sounded like a promise and the more she played it through her mind over and over, the less she wanted to rush over to him.

'I still have to get them out of here though,' Sakura thought pulling a distressed face; this was going to be tougher than she thought. Sakura watched as they ate their cooked snakes with happy grins…it seemed like they were doing okay for now but this couldn't last forever right?

She needed to come up with a plan, sighing softly Sakura sat down on the rock she was hiding behind and leaned against it, it didn't look like they were planning on going anywhere for tonight. She changed from her djinn equip back to her normal form and closed her eyes.

" _My king what are you-_

"If I'm not going to reveal myself to them the least I can do is make sure that they stay safe," Sakura stated trying to get comfortable, it didn't sit well with her that she would be in a warm bed at night while they were out here. She was going to have to return so that the queen didn't become suspicious but whenever she could she'd come back to the valley and try to figure out a way to get them out.

Sakura yawned 'Stupid Sinbad, he makes my life complicated without even realising it.'

* * *

"Oh Sakura, you look dreadful!" exclaimed Mira taking in the pinkette's appearance, dark lines under the eyes, pale skin, dishevelled hair; just terrible.

Sakura waved her hand in attempt to ease the queen's worries of her guests fatigue state "It's nothing to worry about your highness,"

"No, no, there must be a reason for this." Mira said scrunching her face in thought "Is it the girls? Are my daughters troubling you too much?"

Sakura shook her head, sure the girls liked to run her around all day each one having different activities planned for the day and because there were so many of them she had to be fair and do everything with each of them taking up most of her day. Sakura was left alone at night luckily but during that time she went to the valley to keep watch over Sinbad, Ja'far and Mystras. This routine had gone on for a long while though and it was taking a toll on her body. She may be a ninja but she was still human with its weaknesses.

'There has to be a way out of there.' Sakura resolved, she wouldn't stop until she figured it out and that also meant she wouldn't stop with her gruelling routine, she was nearly tempted to show herself especially after she realised that they were becoming rather adapted to living down there and appeared to have completely forgotten about escaping. They already built a shelter for them and were appeared content. That was what worried her more than anything, if they were no longer worried about escaping then it wouldn't matter if she found a way to get them about because by then-certain goals may have changed.

'I have got to find a way to get them out of there soon' Sakura thought 'For both my sake and theirs.'

"Your highness, it doesn't seem like you're in the best of spirits either." Sakura pointed out to divert the attention away from her.

"Yes well," Mira sighed putting her hand on her cheek "I've been getting some complaints from my girls about the men recently."

Sakura raised an eyebrow "What kind of complaints?"

"Huh?" Mira smiled "Oh it's nothing much just the usual about the men who gather the stones from the valley. They said that there has been less recently so we've had to move to another location."

This seemed to perk Sakura's interest "Stones from the valley?"

"Yes, precious stones and one of Artemyra's most valued resources, they are found in the Valley."

"But I don't understand your highness, how do you get these-

"Oh that's fairly easy, we throw meat down; the stones get stuck in it and then we send our giant birds in after it and when they bring it back up the men gather the stones."

An idea couldn't have sprung faster into Sakura's mind. If those birds were going down into the valley and bringing the meat back up, maybe they could bring something else up-like a certain group of idiots that got themselves thrown into the valley. Of course there were still a few quirks to work out but this was their best option.

"Could I perhaps see this your highness?" asked Sakura

Mira raised an eyebrow curiously "Now why would you want to see that? It's rather dull."

Sakura came up with an explanation quickly, "Well I wouldn't mind doing a bit of work and with my djinn equip I might be able to help out with the gather. I could go into the valley and find the best places to gather stones."

'Best place would be somewhere near Sinbad's camp.'

Mira seemed to be in thought narrowing her eyes, "Well I suppose if you want to. I never thought to do this myself. Very well."

Sakura mentally grinned in triumph, she'd get everyone out of the valley and then she could be on her way and get on with her mission.

* * *

Sakura flew across the valley looking out for the best location to find the precious stones, she began from where Sinbad, Ja'far and Mystras's camp was located before making her way further down. She needed to find a place for them to drop the meat where the boys would be able to find it and hopefully then they'd be able to figure out for themselves how to get out of the valley.

" _I don't know my king, males are awfully dim-witted," Sitri stated like it was pure fact_

Sakura didn't exactly disagree with that statement, after all they did get themselves trapped down at the bottom of a valley-no matter how many times she thought it, it was still hard to swallow. They were alive at least.

Slowing down when she caught sight of light shimmering from down below, she saw a large variety of gems scattered all over the ground and around the rock walls. It was a bit further than she would've preferred but it wasn't going to be impossible for them to reach.

'This should do it,' Sakura thought before flying off to inform the Artemyrians about the discovery. They would start sending down meat down there, Sinbad and his friends would find it and then figure to use the birds to escape.

'I hope this work because I cannot go through another day looking at their naked asses.' Sakura visibly shuddered.

' _You must admit my king, that Sinbad does have a rather nice-_

"Sitri, finish that sentence and I'll leave your metal vessel in the deepest part of this place." Sakura glowered though feeling her cheeks heat up. Honestly sometimes the crudeness of her djinn was too much to handle.

* * *

A few days passed but still Sinbad, Ja'far and Mystras didn't seem to be getting any closer to figuring a way out of that valley. Sakura was beginning to lose her patience. This was the only way out as far as she knew yet it didn't seem like they came across the meat just yet. One night Sakura headed down to go and check on them during the day when she overheard the three boys talking inside their hut. Then she heard Mystras completely flip his top and shout at them.

"WHY ARE WE ADAPTING TO THIS LIFESTYLE?"

It was honestly the first time Sakura ever heard him lose his composure like that. It was both shocking and interesting.

"DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHY WE'RE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?" Mystras yelled at who Sakura knew was Ja'far and Sinbad even though she couldn't see inside the hut.

Sakura sighed in relief, good now maybe those idiots would get a move on and-

"To survive!"

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed before slapping a hand over her mouth, she heard shuffling in the hut and then Sinbad spoke.

"Did you guys hear something?"

"I think so."

"I thought I heard a voice."

"There's no one out here but us right?"

Quickly ducking behind a rock, Sakura watched as the three came out trying to find out if what they heard was in fact a voice or if they were just hearing things. Ja'far, Sinbad and Mystras continued to look around but after about five minutes they gave up and returned back into the hut to finish their meal.

Sakura let out a breath of relief 'Looks like this isn't going to work the way I planned.'

" _They almost caught you my king," Stolas said "Please be more cautious."_

'It was an accident, it won't happen again." Sakura promised softly "I need to do something about this thought, if they're really considering living here I'm going to have to give these guys a serious wake up call."

" _How do you intend to do that my king?" asked Beleth_

Sakura seemed to be thinking for a moment, there was no way she could blow her cove but she couldn't let them go on like this any longer. Chances are they weren't going to be too happy if they found out she was watching them the entire time.

'I'm not entirely sure but I'll figure it out.'

* * *

The rest of the day went by as usual, Sakura spent most of her time with Pisti and the other Artemyra princesses. Then she went off to have some light conversation with the queen who had requested her-

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In a bath.

Sakura marvelled at the queens personal washroom, located high on the top floor of the palace, there were large windows lining the top of the ceiling and it was quite-open…..should anyone come around on a giant bird without a doubt they would be able to spot anyone in this area.

'Has the queen ever heard of the term modesty?' Sakura wondered as she held the white towel a little tighter to her chest; there in the centre of the room she saw the beautiful women bathing in a large tub of steaming water. She looked up at Sakura and smiled

"Ah, there you are. You've been gone since this morning I was begging to think you got lost in the Valley of the dead."

Sakura gave a small laugh and shook her head "Of course not, it just took a little longer than I anticipated. I managed to find a good location to drop the meat and gather stones."

Mira drew her hand from the water and gestured to Sakura "That's good to hear, now are you going to just stand there or are you going to join me?"

Sakura felt a trickle of insecurity creep through her as she dropped the towel causing her to descend quickly into the water. The women of Artemyra would all be considered visually pleasing to outside eyes, they had a natural beauty that couldn't be replicated. And Mira was by far one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

A small shock of pain coursed through her.

'No wonder Sinbad….' Sakura sighed and sunk into the water, feeling the warmth of the water encase her and her unsuspecting depression fade away. After a moment of silence (longer than she expected) Sakura opened her eyes and saw the queen looking at her with a thoughtful expression. She seemed to be examining Sakura with such concentration it made the pinkette squirm.

Sakura instinctively lowered herself further into the water "Something the matter your highness?"

Mira just smiled unashamed "Oh I was just admiring your physique. I'm a little jealous."

"Eh?" Sakura couldn't help blurt out, she didn't understand what the queen would find appealing about her body. It wasn't unusual for women to have problems with their own body image but Sakura knew for a fact that while her body was fit, she believed her body lacked in terms of what was considered to be feminine. She was petite yes but over the years her body had become toned and lined lightly with muscle-not visible but if grasped one could tell she didn't have the 'soft curves' of most women, though she felt it was an improvement from when she was younger-nothing but elbows and knees. She had started caring less about what she looked like especially now that she was in a world where she felt she didn't have the 'need' to.

"I don't think you would have any reason to be your highness," Sakura said "Your body is far superior to mine. My body isn't soft or anywhere near as dainty may appear it's-

"Powerful," Mira interrupted before swimming towards Sakura until she was right beside her to get a better look at her. She placed her hands on Sakura's shoulder's "You have the ability to do what most women in this world can't-subdue men, overpower them and be seen as equal if not greater. Because of this body you will never have to live in fear of man, you can survive in the outside world. Men look at me and forget who I am, of the power I hold, they do not see a queen but another-how should I say….typical object of their desires; simple and incapable of being anything. They underestimate me and while I love using this to deceive and then put them in their place it is quite irritating and a bit shaming to think that my first impression isn't the image that I want to portray."

Sakura was surprised by the queen's confession, had they already reached a point in their relationship where boundaries were now non-existent? Well they were bathing together, suppose that gave liberty to bare the soul as well as the body.

Mira rested her head against Sakura's, the pinkette then dared to ask "Is that the reason why Artemyra isolates themselves like this?"

"Mmm, I suppose it's partly that, but a country ruled by women has no real need to interact with a world ruled by man. The women of this country do not trust man because of all the whispers of the outside world. Any deviance in this world has been man-made, destruction, war-all the cause of man. Women have no part in it, yet they are forced to suffer through, why should I condemn my country to such a fate? We keep our distance from the world because we are strong, we do not need to lean on the support of other nations."

Sakura felt like she was slowly beginning to piece together the real reason why Mira refused to interact with outsiders, it was more than just power or her hatred of men; she wanted to keep her country safe from a world that even Sakura admitted to be cruel.

"But even if you say that, the reality is that the world is a cruel place. It has always been cruel and will continue to be." Sakura stated, her eyes hardened "But even so, I don't believe that isolation is the way to stay strong. While you may say that men have subjective views towards women; the women of Artemyra have the same views of men. You explain how much you despise men's traditional systems yet at the same time you're implementing the same systems. You despise being underestimated because you're a women but at the same time you were subjective and judged these men you threw into the valley based on a mass assumption than individual."

"No, I threw them down because their leader attempted to seduce me to get what he wanted." Mira argued "He assumed I was a mere plaything that would bend to his will with a few empty words."

Sakura let out a small breath "Of course there are men who have their deviances, but women are not that different either."

Mira then let out a huff "Let's not talk of such matters now, all this tension is ruining the bath."

Sakura didn't say anymore, Artemyra had a deep mistrust for men- a distrust that even Sakura couldn't waver.

'The only one who can change the queen's opinion is going to have to be the one who offended her.' Sakura thought resting her head at the back of the bath 'Sinbad, you've got your work cut out for you.'

* * *

That night Sakura returned to the valley, it was surprising when she found Mystras wondering around on his own while Sinbad and Ja'far slept soundly. He was the only one who appeared to have not lost his sense just yet. That was a good sign not to lose hope.

"Those guys, they've completed adapted to living like this…." Sakura heard Mystras say, she trailed carefully behind him from above.

Then a thought occurred to her.

Mystras felt a sudden gush of wind from behind him, he turned around and thought that there was something behind him but when he turned around there was nothing.

"What was that?"

Hoping that the walk would clear his mind and perhaps somehow give him an idea to escape Mystras continued through the dark valley, there weren't signs of any animals other than all the snakes-their only food source. He was losing it, it frustrated him to know that Sinbad and Ja'far appeared to be becoming so accustomed to this life, while he was impatient to get out and with 'good' reason-

 _Mystras stared down at the edge of the cliff in fear; he did not think his first journey to the outside world would be his last. He gave a nervous gulp, this was it they were going to die. AND ALL BECAUSE SINBAD COULDN'T' KEEP HIS PRIMAL URGES AT BAY._

 _Ja'far had attempted to reason with the queen but she would hear none of it, hence why they were now standing naked about to plummet to their deaths. All but Hinahoho for whatever reason was being restrained but not placed on the edge with them._

 _One of the Artemyra girls came up behind him, then he felt a hand on his chest "Oh my, you're quite strong aren't you?" she leaned closer to his face and whispered to him "If you make it back I'll show you a good time."_

 _This had Mystras turning red before he was roughly shoved over the cliff with Sinbad and Ja'far._

'If I make it back that girl-

Mystras shook his head from visions he did not need right now 'No, that's not the reason! I'm here to help Sinbad-sama.'

Just then Mystras heard a light shuffling and then his foot hit something soft yet hard, it didn't feel like rock. Bringing his light closer he gasped at what he saw-meat! It was clearly already processed by human hands but why it was down here eluded him.

"W-Where did this come from?" Mystras started looking around, his eyes spotted something in the sky, a figure-a shadow, a silhouette, he wasn't sure but it was gone after he blinked though he was certain he saw something.

"What was that?" he wondered trying to find it but whatever he saw was out of sight now. Returning back to the meat Mystras picked it up and went to return back to his friends.

Sakura watched as Mystras headed back with the large chunk of meat and sighed in relief; the young Sasan prince nearly saw her flying luckily she moved in time

'That should do it, I hope'

* * *

When Sakura eavesdropped on the boys the next morning she found Mystras telling Sinbad and Ja'far about the meat. She turned her head when Sinbad and Ja'far crouched down to inspect the meat.

"How did this meat get to the bottom of the valley?" asked Ja'far

Sinbad turned to Mystras "Mystras, how did you find this?"

Mystras shrugged "I found it on the ground when I was searching the area last night." Holding his face Mystras continued in thought "It was already processed when I found it."

Sinbad's expression turned serious "That means…

Sakura took a breath ready to sigh in relief-finally they were going to get out of there but then those thoughts were shattered when she saw Sinbad and Ja'far dancing around happily.

"We're gonna have a lamb fest tonight!"

'ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?'

Sakura wasn't the only one infuriated, Mystras let out a loud cry of frustration "No! Think about it! This meat has clearly been processed by human hands! Don't you think it's suspicious that it's here? It's not a coincidence! Someone intentionally placed fresh meat here, it could be a clue to our escape!"

But as Mystras looked at Sinbad and Ja'far who had somehow managed to start a fire and start cooking the meat, he realised that the only escape they wanted was an escape from hunger.

Sakura was biting her bottom lip, shaking furiously. 'That idiot, that idiot, that idiot, that idiot, that idiot!'

' _Calm yourself my king please!' Stolas said 'You must not let your anger control you,'_

Sakura exhaled softly 'You're right Stolas I should-

"I want it rare."

"That's too risky, well done is the way to go."

'SON OF A-

Sakura furiously kicked the boulder she was hiding behind and watched as it began to crumble, realising in the instant that when it vanished she would be seen! The dust from the rubble gave her a chance-only a few seconds to make her escape which she did, she heard the male's voices though.

"What was that?"

"A rock slide?"

"An earthquake?!"

Sakura flew further back and hid behind a new set of rock watching as Ja'far, Sinbad and Mystras looked around curiously for whatever had caused that sudden tremor. It didn't seem like they were aware of her presence but this was the second time she had nearly exposed herself! Sakura berated herself for not heeding her djinns advice.

'At least they never saw me,' she told herself

" _Barely,' Stolas remarked_

Sakura tugged her hair in frustration 'I can't help it, these guys just can't take a hint!'

She was getting so pissed, there was no other way to describe her current feelings, she was pissed. The answer was to their freedom was basically handed to them on a silver platter and all they wanted to do was eat the meat on it!

"Anyway how's that meat coming along?" Sinbad asked turning back to the fire and then to Mystras "Mystras, you've led us into a game changing situation. This may be a decisive blow that will break the deadlock. I want you to show me where you found this meat."

Sakura gasped 'This is it!'

She took off holding onto one last hope.

* * *

Sakura watched as the sun began to set over the valley, she walked alongside the edge of the cliff heading over to the area on top of the valley where the women and men were working to collect the stones. The men had to gather the stones while the women directed the birds to retrieve the meat since only women were able to control them.

"Sakura-san, this is a surprise," one of the girls said "What brings you here?"

"Oh just seeing if there's anything I can help you with." Sakura said

"Well….we were thinking we could sue your help in relocating again, we believe that there might be something at the bottom of the valley eating all of the meat."

Sakura's sweat dropped, so it seemed that Sinbad had Mystras show them where the meat was just so that they could gather it up before the birds. 'More like three someone's but…'

"Oh really? But that area has a lot of gems."

"It won't really matter if we can't gather them in the meat," another girl pointed out "Some creature must've wondered into the valley and devouring them."

"You're not completely off." Sakura muttered

"What was that?"

"Eh, nothing." Sakura said quickly with a small laugh, of course she was aware it was Sinbad, Ja'far and Mystras who was eating all of the meat and it seems like they've already noticed.

" _This is bad," Sitri said "If they move location then your little friends will be stuck in that whole forever."_

" _Not necessarily," Stolas said "I believe I have a solution."_

Sakura's eyes perked in interest 'What do you have in mind?'

After listening to her djinn's voice Sakura went on to the women "Well I think I might have a solution to your problem but you're going to need more meat, a lot more."

* * *

Mystras had been very hopeful when he was asked to show Sinbad where he found the meat, when they got to the area he was shocked along with Sinbad and Ja'far to find a not one not two but several dozen pieces of meat lying around, processed and fresh. However the reaction from Sinbad wasn't one he was expecting, the man ordered them to start gathering all the meat! Then these giant birds came up and started collecting it. So Sinbad had them go back and get baskets to gather all the meat.

"Hurry up Mystras we must gather the meat before the birds return again!"

Mystras felt like he was going to bust a blood vessel 'He says that fate is on our side but…he just wants to eat the meat after all.'

"I'm gonna be stuck here forever," Mystras whimpered with tears in his eyes

"Do not worry, Mystras," Ja'far said seriously as he continued to gather up the meat "Sin has a plan. He's the type of man who can…turn futility into an act of destiny."

Ja'far reassuring smile gave Mystras a sliver of hope.

"Guys look at this." Sinbad called holding up a small chunk of meat "This one's not even rotten!"

"I only see a man who wants to eat meat." Mystras commented

"It's all in your head Mystras," Though Ja'far seemed less reassuring this time.

Suddenly more meat was dropped from above, only this time the meat that fell, fell with a loud thud because….

"THEY'RE HUGE." Exclaimed the three

"They're bigger than ever!" Ja'far observed

Mystras looked down "So what? We still have no way out."

"Mystras."

Sinbad suddenly spoke "I've been waiting for this."

With that usual smirk Sinbad pointed "These are the carriers of our destiny!"

* * *

" _What will you do if they do not get out of the valley?" asked Sitri_

Sakura lied on the bed starring at the canopy; it's been a few hours since she left, she had the women drop down giant chunks of meat so that Ja'far, Sinbad and Mystras could use them to get out of the valley using the birds, and if they did get out she didn't want to be there when they were but thinking back to how much time had passed she was getting worried.

"I don't know."

" _Are you going to have to reveal yourself and help them out?"_

"Probably." Sakura said a sinking feeling set in the pit of her stomach, she didn't know what all of this was for then. All this trouble and for what? She was beginning to think she should just show herself and fly them out herself.

"Watching them all this time didn't help, dropping the meat down there and leading them to it didn't help….using giant piece of meat to get the birds to carry them out of the valley…"

Sakura sat up holding her face "What was a thinking? I'm so stupid."

" _What makes you say that?"_

"I should've just showed myself, I should have helped them out of that valley from the beginning, instead I left them there all this time….I'm so stupid."

"On contrary, you were really helpful."

Sakura gasped and turned her head to side, to see a silhouette right by her window.

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"SINBAD!" Sakura cried out in surprise backing up so far she fell off the bed with a none too graceful 'oof!'

She heard Sinbad produce a hearty laugh "Nice to see you too."

Sakura stood up panting softly, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't hallucinating "Y-you made it out of the valley!"

Sinbad was dressed in what Sakura recognized as the men's clothes from Artemyra, he probably borrowed them from the men there when he got out.

" _I kind of miss the leaf.' Sitri commented_

"You know…" Sinbad said as his eyes trailed over her form causing her to instinctively cover her partly exposed chest due to the outfit "I mentioned wanting to see you in this outfit before…perhaps destiny really does heed my calls."

Sakura and Sinbad stared at one another for what felt like a long while. Only when Sinbad took his first step forward did Sakura take one back.

"Wait a minute…" Sakura trailed as his words finally dawned on her "How did you know I was-

"I knew all along," Sinbad said with a sly grin "Before I was even dropped into that valley."

 _When Sinbad, Ja'far, Hinahoho and Mystras went to see the queen they did not get the greeting they were expecting. The queen Mira was very disappointed in discovering they were all men and in an attempt to reverse the situation and avoid being turned away Sinbad walked up to the queen ignoring the horrified gasps from his comrades as he made his way up to the queen._

" _I will not betray you." Sinbad said walking closer "For the country and its majesty, I want to use all my strength."_

 _Bold, Sinbad took the queens one hand in his and placed his other against the small of her back feeling her soft locks under his fingers. He gave her a charming smile._

" _Believe in me please. Your majesty."_

 _The queen stared at him with a look of surprise on her face before she gave a smirk of her own "You have seduced many girls right?"_

" _I…" Sinbad trailed with a smile, he closed his eyes "I am different from other men."_

" _Oh? Interestingly enough my other guest said she had met men who were not like the rest. I thought to myself that time if I even thought I made such a discovery I would ask her opinion."_

" _Then will I be meeting this other guest?" Sinbad asked_

" _It looks like you're confused; you are not different from other men. It is not something you decide but me!" Mira stood up and held her spear's blade to Sinbad's neck grasping his wrist in a painful grip._

" _Men love to do that." Mira gave a malicious grin "I will teach you. What happens when you disobey a women."_

 _All of the queen's guards came in, all women circling Ja'far, Hinahoho and Mystras pointing their weapons at them._

 _Then Mira's staff started reacting to Sinbad's sword, the eight pointed stars appearing and glowing on their metal vessels._

' _This can't be…' Sinbad thought looking back at the queen_

 _Mira grinned and walked up to Sinbad "Well it seems you also have the power of a djinn. I did not think you were a user."_

 _Reaching from behind him, the queen took Baal's metal vessel "It seems you're not just a talker. However this does not change the fact that you have greatly offended me. Had you done things different I would've had you meet my honoured guest." Mira whispered in Sinbad's ear "She's a dungeon conqueror as well."_

" _What?" Sinbad gasped, there was another dungeon capturer here?_

" _Three djinns and she's quite cute with that pink hair-unfortunately I would not want her to be exposed to a vile man like yourself."_

" _Pink hair-wait does that mean S-_

" _TAKE EVERYTHING FROM THEM."_

Sakura smacked her forehead "So the queen did mention me….dammit-wait how did you know I was watching you in the valley?"

Sinbad raised an eyebrow at her "Well I just heard you say it now and there was the time we heard you scream and earlier on when you kicked down that boulder."

Sakura clenched her fists, this was all waste then on her part! "So you figured it out huh? Now what?"

Sinbad stretched his arms and Sakura kept her eyes on his face, he seemed completely calm but there was something behind this.

"Well for now, I would like you to take me to the queen's room." Sinbad stated "She should know where my metal vessels are right?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes and kept her mouth shut.

Sinbad just shrugged "Well if you don't tell me I'll just go walking into every room until I find-

"She's a level up, you could make it up to the window." Sakura said, she did not want Sinbad going into every room especially considering the queen had seven daughters who would all probably be traumatized if they see a half-naked man come into their rooms in the middle of the night.

Sinbad grinned and went back to the window "Thanks,"

Before leaving Sinbad looked back at Sakura "Oh and Sakura, don't go anywhere or I'll have to look for you."

The pinkette glared back at Sinbad in return and watched as he climbed out of the window. Sakura felt her heart pounding in her chest, there was something about that look he gave her, and it sent shivers down her spine. She hadn't seen him look at her like that before…Something felt amiss….

" _Um king, you just lead your man into another women's room…." Stolas said_

'He is not 'my man', Stolas,' Sakura argued

" _Even so was that really a wise move?" asked Beleth_

"Probably not," Sakura said coming around the other side of the bed and reaching for her bag "But now that that's finished, I can get out of here. Besides the queen in strong enough to handle herself as you saw when we fought."

" _But didn't Sinbad tell you to-_

"I heard what he said Sitri" Sakura cut in "But that doesn't mean I'll obey, I'm not one of his subordinates."

" _Yes you seem to be more than that." Sitri commented carelessly_

"Shut up." Sakura hissed "Sinbad's caused me enough trouble, I'm not about to-

Then there was a knock on Sakura's door that caught her attention 'Now what?'

"Come in."

The door open but Sakura saw no one, until she looked down and saw a tired Pisti appearing in her nightgown rubbing her eyes.

"Pisti…"

"Had a nightmare." Pisti cried softly

Dropping her bag Sakura went over and picked up the young girl, rubbing her back "There, there, you can sleep in here tonight okay?"

Sakura threw back the covers and placed the little girl under with her, she began to stroke her hair comfortingly. It wasn't unusual for a child her age to have nightmares but Sakura was curious as to why Pisti didn't just go to her mother's room, after all while the queen was powerful and stern she was a very kind and loving mother.

"Pisti…why didn't you go to your mom?"

"Mama wasn't there when Pisti went, she flew out of the room with a dragon."

Sakura's jaw went slack, Mira and Sinbad flew out of the room in their djinn equips? That ensured a fight…

Sakura shook her head 'No, no, no, no, I am not involving myself any further.'

Resuming to stroke Pisti's hair not more than two minutes went by before the girl fell asleep. Sakura felt tired but she did not want to sleep. She wanted to leave, she wanted to leave right now, she didn't want to be here anymore.

'I am not getting involved,' Sakura told herself

Just then however she saw something flashing in the sky from her open window, red mixed with white….

"Oh crap!" Sakura exclaimed before shooting out of her bed while making sure she didn't wake Pisti.

" _My king didn't you just say you weren't going to get-_

"Yeah well sometimes you say things and then certain idiots make you do something else! Now come on BELETH."

* * *

Ja'far and Mystras looked up at the sky watching as Sinbad and the queen exchanged blows. Sinbad had gone ahead of them while they went to get their clothes and other belongings and search for Hinahoho but that was delayed when they both saw Sinbad and Mira flying through the air trying to subdue one another. First Sinbad was fighting the queen in Baal's form but when he realized that the lightning attacks from the two djinns would do nothing but cancel each other out leaving them at a standstill. Sinbad switched to Valefor's form, his eyes turned red and his hair became long and white, he had fox like ears and several tails. There was a white piece of cloth that wrapped around his shoulder and around his waist. There was no only a third eye on his forehead but one also in the palm of his hands.

"Another djinn equip?" asked the queen? "You think that trick will work on me? I've fought someone with three metal vessels and have held my own quite well, but she was different from you, far greater in many ways."

Sinbad couldn't help but smile "Ah, so Sakura fought against you, your majesty?"

Mira narrowed her eyes "You….how do you know of my honored guest?"

"Sakura and I have a bit of history you might say," Sinbad said holding out his hands, something emitted from them that the queen took no note of.

"History? Well now, she did mention meeting certain men who were not like the rest-if she considered you to be one of them I'm afraid she misjudged. Perhaps you've seduced her into thinking that way yes? And here I thought she was a women who would never bend to a man."

Mira sighed in disappointment "Honestly, in the end you're just a typical man and I suppose she's just a typical women."

Sinbad narrowed his eyes "Your majesty shouldn't make brash assumptions about Sakura, especially in front of me."

Mira raised an eyebrow "Oh? Fine then let's return to the matter at hand. If you're not going to attack I will!"

She headed full speed towards Sinbad, readying her spear to pierce through his flesh but as she continued to swing Sinbad continued to evade her.

"What is that all you've got?"

Sinbad held out his hand "Garufor Zairu!"

* * *

Sakura flew top speed just in time to see Sinbad and Mira duking it out, Sinbad was in what appeared to be his second djinn equip. Then Sakura saw ice shards flyilng towards Mira but while she took them head on it seemed to have no effect on her. She then heard Mira explain to Sinbad the unique powers of her djinn that held three elements. Then she attacked, using her fire power, she sent Sinbad through the sky and to the ground.

"Sinbad!" Sakura exclaimed rushing towards him when a bolt of lightning appeared and unexpectedly hit her from behind, Sakura let out a small cry in pain and turned around clutching her arm to face the queen.

"So you did know this man…that's why you wanted to 'help' so badly with the work in the valley." Mira narrowed her eyes "How dare you, after all I've done, this is how you repay me by siding with this man?"

Sakura glared back at the queen but didn't say anything, the cold air hitting her now raw flesh burned excruciatingly. "Sinbad is not like other men your highness, no matter how irresponsible, stupid, perverted or-

"Thanks Sakura, really feeling the love." Sinbad remarked from down below

"The point is, I would never abandon someone who needs my help even if it's a man you despise." Sakura stated "Sinbad's a lot more than he appears to be, he really is not like other men but you are going to have to open your eyes to see the truth."

"You are such a disappointment," Mira then raised her staff and flames in the form of three huge fox heads appeared heading straight for Sakura and Sinbad. "CERBERO JAIRU RANQUESA"

There was a huge explosion on impact, Mira looked down at the scorched part of the forest "My look at that, guess you were just like all the other men Sinbad."

Mira laughed but then she heard a voice behind her "It's a little early to celebrate your excellency,"

Turning around the queen saw Sinbad holding Sakura under one of his arms, completely unharmed.

"H-How are you still here?" she asked narrowing her eyes and trying to figure out how it was possible they both managed to survive an attack at that range.

Little did the queen know she had fallen victim to Valefor's true power, the djinn was able to do more than manipulate snow and ice and she was about to discover this the hard way.

Sakura peered through slanted eyes and looked at the queen, she then noticed how slow she was moving….she appeared almost still.

"What the-

"Stagnation." Sinbad said smirking

Sakura stared in shock; this was the first time she was seeing Valefor's true power in action and she was very amazed to say the least.

"That's….wow."

Sinbad's grin seemed to grow "You think?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes "I wouldn't be so impressed with myself if I were you. You wouldn't have gotten us into this situation in the first place if you just kept your mouth shut and hands to yourself."

Sinbad pouted "There's just no pleasing you,"

Mira frowned looking at them "You bastard, is running all you can do."

Holding up her staff she grinned wickedly "But you won't be able to escape this."

The two heads beside Mira began emitting lighting and ice from their mouths "Fire, lightning and ice, the ultimate annihilation magic that combines all three elements. I'll turn you into ash!"

Sakura's gasped as she watched the queen's body emit a powerful red light, she could also feel the immense power coming off of her. She had obviously lost all patience and was intent on killing them now.

"Maximum magic! CERBERO KALB VOQUESA!"

Before Mira could unleash the attack however Sinbad appeared behind and gave her a light smack to her head causing her to spin around.

"Impossible!"

"You cannot do that your excellency. You'll end up harming the very country you swore to protect."

Mira glared harder at Sinbad, her face twisted in anger and frustration as she tried to figure out how he came up behind her so quickly

"Bastard! I refuse to be dictated to by a man!"

With that she swung her spear at Sinbad and Sakura (who was still being kept firmly under Sinbad's arm) but they vanished and reappeared out of nowhere.

"Looking for me?" Sinbad asked in a mocking tone

'Impossible' Mira thought 'It-it's like…fighting someone from another dimension'

Sakura felt slightly sorry for the queen as she watched her face contort in so much confusion while she continued to fight Sinbad. It was something she found similar to genjutsu but not quite at the same time.

Sinbad continued to evade the queens attacks with ease, still unaware of the djinns power she was under and it was clear she believed that the reason she was losing was because Sinbad's power outmatched her own, yet Sakura was sure the queen might feel differently is she knew the truth behind Valefor's power.

'Same old Sinbad,' Sakura thought

"I prefer not to treat women this way," Sinbad said holding out his hand before he released his magic "Garufor Kirestal!"

Sakura watched as the queen was encased in ice from head to toe 'No way….'

'This is the first time a man….has ever defeated me,' Mira thought before closing her eyes

Sakura looked up at Sinbad who had a victorious smirk on his face as he looked down on her "Well this journey turned out to be very interesting wouldn't you say?"

Sakura frowned and shoved him away from her, she clenched her fists tightly so hard that they were shaking and glared at Sinbad with so much rage he swore he could see the aura of anger around her.

"Sinbad….." Sakura trailed in a deadly tone causing him to wince and back away a bit

"Now hold on just a….

"YOU IDIOT"

There was the sounds of screams filled with pain and pummelling that echoed throughout all of Artemyra.

* * *

When Mira opened her eyes she found herself lying comfortably in her bed with something pressed against her forehead. She shot up in alarm and looked around for her staff only to be grabbed by a familiar pink haired figure.

"Your highness it's alright please calm down!" Sakura said watching as the queen panted

"W-What? Sakura?"

Giving a small smile Sakura leaned Mira back against the pillows "You had quite a battle your highness, though your injuries weren't too bad your body temperature was a bit low."

Mira gasped as she recalled the recent events and frowned "Sinbad and you-

"It's over your highness." Sakura said firmly, her eyes turned hard "You've lost…to him."

Looking at her hands Mira clutched the fabric of her bedding so hard it nearly tore "T-That…it can't be."

Sakura sighed as she continued to tend to the queens wounds, she was certain this women would not enjoy having her skin marred with bruises or marks.

"It is too late to deny it,"

"That man…." Then Mira looked at Sakura with a stern face "And you! You and him were-

Sakura's expression turned dark, her eyes narrowed and her face so firm it caused Mira to fall speechless.

"Your highness," Sakura began "Sinbad and I share a past, but there is nothing further than that. He is someone I considered to be a good friend once before but that time has long passed."

"Then why did you help him?"

"Because…." Sakura trailed as she tried to come up with a reason "He isn't like other men in this world."

Mira scoffed "I don't believe that."

"You've seen it yourself," Sakura said "If I'm not mistaken your highness, you were about to unleash a magic that would've destroyed half your country and it wouldn't have amounted to anything because Sinbad would've avoided the attack. Yet instead he stopped you, reminded you of your duty as queen. He protected this country when you forgot to."

Mira's head bowed in shame "Sinbad….but he, he insulted me! He treated me like some common-

"Sinbad is not a man without flaws," Sakura interjected "But you are not a women without faults either and your biggest fault is the way you shut out those you believe are not like you."

"That is not-

"It is true and you know it, why is it that Artemyra doesn't interact with the outside world then? You're afraid of those who aren't like you and share your beliefs that you haven't experienced the world and its diversities. You can't go on like this. This world is cruel and when the time comes you're going to wish you had other friends to support you if something should threaten your country. It is not a weakness to have support from others."

"And you're suggesting I become friends with Sinbad? Join his company? What is he trying to accomplish by being a mere merchant?"

"He wants to change the world." Sakura replied "That is his goal, he wants to build relationships with other countries through his trading company so that he has support when he builds his own country and becomes king."

Mira scoffed "That's a rather childish ambition."

"And yet here he is, two djinns, allied already with other nations. If that doesn't show you how determined it is then you may want to get your eyes checked your highness."

Mira looked at Sakura with a stern expression

"One day," Sakura said raising her chin "Sinbad will become king and in that time your highness you will either look back to this day with satisfaction or regret. The choice is yours."

The room fell silent as the two women stared at one another with unwavering expressions before Mira gave a side smirk.

"Well then….let's put that theory to the test."

* * *

" _Is it time already my king?" asked Stolas_

Starring out in the distance as the sun began setting on Artemyra Sakura breathed in the strong air. She sat on the edge of one of the bridges overlooking the city. She had not seen Sinbad or the other's since last night. There wasn't even that much time to give a proper greeting to Mystras and Ja'far who had watched the entire battle take place but Sakura left to tend to the queens wounds and Sinbad had let her go surprisingly although he had insisted she take care of herself as well.

"Afraid so, staying in one place too long seems to invite trouble for me and unnecessary complications."

" _By unnecessary complications you are referring to those former companions of yours?" asked Sitri_

Sakura didn't reply to the question and instead asked on herself "Tell me, do the three of you find me despicable?"

" _We don't understand my king." Beleth said_

"I say that I only have one objective in this world, to collect the shards and return to where I came from and that you are all just bi-products of my goal, a means to an end but at the same time I continue to contradict myself by helping Sinbad and speak about him like….how can I say? Like I am utterly devoted to him when my devotion is supposedly only to my mission and goal yet I continue to defend him, fight for him. Tell me, do you still want a hypocrite like me for your king? Someone who might discard you when this is over?"

She was met for silence a good three minutes before finally she got a response

" _My king, I have not known you for a long time but from that time you yelled at me in my dungeon, I have accepted you fully as my king. Your ambitions I wouldn't never question." Stolas said_

" _Yeah, after all I don't think I could have asked for a more interesting master," Sitri said "With you there is never a dull moment and if you decide to put us down one day we won't complain-well I know I won't because I would've already gotten more out of the journey with you than anyone else could give me in a hundred years."_

" _It does not matter what your goals and ambitions are, be it for yourself or someone else we will always support you. You are our king, we have given you our power to use as you see fit. If you only want our power to return to your world, even if you plan to discard us in the end, we will support you until that day."_

Sakura felt her heart swell with emotions "Thank you….all of you."

Closing her eyes Sakura smiled "Then I guess we should get going huh?"

"Running off again?"

With a small yelp Sakura spun on her heel to come face to face with Sinbad. She didn't say anything as she walked closer towards her.

"Ja'far, Mystras and I were summoned to have another meeting with the queen and she said some interesting things."

"Oh?" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow

Sinbad nodded "It seems she's had a change of heart and has agreed to join the company,"

"Good for you." Sakura said acting coy but Sinbad wasn't falling for it.

"I know it was you who had a hand in that,"

"Don't be stupid." Sakura hissed softly "You were obviously the one who changed her mind not me, I've finished helping you after I left Reim."

"And yet you spoke quite a bit on my behalf in Sasan."

Biting the inside of her cheek, Sakura glared at him unable to think of anything else to say in reply.

"Ja'far, Mystras and Hinahoho really want to see you. We're heading back to Reim soon."

Sakura averted her eyes, she was worried about this which was why she wanted to leave before he caught her again.

" _Too late for that," Sitri muttered_

"I was just about to-

"Take off again without saying anything, yeah I got that."

She winced liked she had been scorned, she knew the rules of the Looking glass was to detach herself from everything in this world , it was hard enough the first time she said it when no one was there to hear it but with the way things were going she might actually have to tell him….

"You remember what I said the last time right?" he asked now playing coy himself

Sakura took two steps back from him, she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes knowing that she remembered their conversation from last night and that time in Sasan.

"You mean that empty threat about not letting me go if you saw me again?" she asked through clenched teeth.

Sinbad was many things but he was not one to make false threats or empty promises-as far as she knew.

He laughed "Well yes but it was no threat nor was it empty, I meant every word."

Sakura rolled her eyes "What are you going to do? There's no way to keep me here besides you said it yourself, I have my own goal and you respect that."

"I do," Sinbad said "But as it turns out I am also a very selfish person."

"And greedy, a flirt, lazy, a possible drunk-

"Are you finished?" asked Sinbad with a hearty chuckle "I am not going to stop you from continuing your journey, I have no need to do that."

Sakura felt her shoulders deflate, relief filling her as she realised he would not force her to stay with him.

"Thank you-

"Because you're going to come back on your own."

Sakura stopped, starring wide eyes at Sinbad "What?"

"You heard me," he said, overconfidence lacing his every word "I am not going to stop you from leaving because pretty soon you are going to return all on your own"

Sakura raised an eyebrow "Oh really? Isn't that declaration a bit cocky even for you?"  
Sinbad shrugged "Perhaps but I am a man with high goals."

"Or a boy with unrealistic ambitions."

"Ambitions that you have fiercely supported from the day we met."

Sakura bit her tongue, he seemed to have the upper hand as far as this conversation was concerned and she felt it was better to end it. Thus closing her eyes she began the chant to send her off, not feeling for anymore goodbyes.

 _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

 _Find those who have been scattered_

 _To retrieve that which has been shattered_

 _Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon_

 _Will help you mend what has been broken._

 _Permission from a king is required_

 _To achieve what is desired_

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece_

Sakura opened her eyes and was met with gold; that was close-indescribably close!

"Sin-

Her voice was muffled as her mouth was sealed shut, her eyes were bulging, her mind unable to process anything, turning blank, her body felt light as if something was lifting her from the ground, there was a warm bubbling inside her stomach that twisted into knots she couldn't untangle, she felt all the air leave her body while she stood as though petrified, frozen. She couldn't see anything other than gold and she couldn't feel anything aside from the arms wrapped around her, she didn't notice anything either-which was going to prove to be her downfall.

The gold began to vanish and she heard Sinbad murmur "See you soon,"

With that she vanished with the wind.

* * *

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When Sakura looked again she was in another location, in another part of the world, the weather here was cold but she still felt the warm after effects of what had taken place, her face felt like it was growing hotter every passing second as her mind began to fathom what had just happened. With gingerly fingers Sakura touched her rose petal lips, her green eyes still wide from shock.

'Sinbad…he-he-he

Sakura felt her knees grow weak and she fell onto the soft sand, she was so engulfed in her thoughts she failed to notice the tall dark silver tower that was only a few meters from her eye. She also failed in to hear her djinns talking to her in her mind.

" _My king!"_

" _Please listen!"_

Her head snapped up "What?"

" _It's Sitri"_

"What about Sitri-

" _She's gone."_

Sakura gasped as her hand quickly shot to the top of her chest where she usually kept her hair pin and realised that the ornament wasn't there anymore.

"W-What?"

Then in clicked.

While Sinbad had 'distracted' her, she failed to realise he had taken one of her metal vessels.

'So that was his plan!' Sakura thought menacingly, the warmth Sakura felt became white hot rage.

" _So that's what the other king's vessel meant when he said he would see you soon." Stolas stated "Stealing Sitri when your guard was down."_

" _That insolent! He shall not get away with this right my king?"_

Sakura was silent, soft pants left her mouth.

" _My king?"_

….

….

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…..

"Let's go."

Sakura turned around and headed towards the dungeon she finally realised was there, she didn't' say anything else but her eyes burned with unspeakable anger.

'Just you wait Sinbad,' Sakura swore 'I will come back to you only I'm going to make you wish you never met me.'

"See you soon."

 **There you have it, I've been writing this chapter whenever I got the chance which wasn't a lot but I finally finished it. Don't forget to review!**


	16. Fire in water-The kunoichi and prince

**Tada, here is another chapter, I told myself I was going to update as soon as I hit a certain numbers of reviews but the response was not what I was expecting so here I am. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The dungeon Sakura now found herself in was one unlike the others it left her in complete awe, she couldn't' believe her eyes, it wasn't the remnants of ruined structures she couldn't identify, it wasn't the strange plants that glowed in different coloured shades of neon lighting up the relatively dark ear, it wasn't even the various gem stones that decorated the floors and shined against the moonlight which was coming from a moon that was so big Sakura thought she could touch it if she flew high enough, it was the fact that this entire dungeon, from the land to the sky was completely covered by water and the most amazing thing was Sakura discovered she was able to breath this water.

"If some dungeons can be up in the sky, I suppose some can be underwater." Sakura reasoned recovering from her shocked state, there was no time to waste, and she wanted to get through this dungeon as quickly as possible.

" _Worry for Sitri?" asked Stolas_

"That and I really want to see Sinbad again,"

" _Would that be to repeat the-_

Sakura cut Beleth off quickly "So I can beat the crap out of him!"

With that she stomped off through the strange new dungeon in search of a way through, determined to let nothing stand in her way.

" _I fear the boy who wishes to become king may not even live to become a man," Stolas said_

" _I have that same inkling," Beleth said_

" _Was that our king's first kiss?"_

"… _."_

* * *

After some time had gone by Sakura continued exploring through the depths, it was a lot like an ocean floor only it wasn't, there were no signs of any sea creatures or sea vegetation, then again Sakura reminded herself every time she thought something was missing that this was not in fact the ocean but a dungeon where you never knew what might appear, what was a danger and what was safe. She didn't drop her guard though, three djinns taught her enough about that.

Sakura noticed that she didn't really feel the water around her, it didn't give her the same sensation when your body is engulfed by it, she was able to keep her feet firmly on the ground though she could swim if she wanted to, she could also see very clearly which was also odd.

'This djinn must harness the water attribute' she concluded of course it wasn't that hard to tell.

A few minutes passed of Sakura wondering around the dungeon but she was yet to see any monsters or find anything that would lead her to the djinn and the shard. She found this strange because usually there would be danger around the first corner of a dungeon. Sakura always knew that every time she set foot in a dungeon she was risking her life but she didn't feel as aware as the first few times.

Then she heard it.

Screaming coming from somewhere near her.

Sakura paused, she definitely heard screaming, it wasn't just any screams-it was the screams of many people, people who sounded like they were being attacked and given where they were….

'Be ready,' Sakura warned as she picked up her speed through the dungeon, the voices got louder and it wasn't long before she found herself facing the cause of it. There she saw it, a few dozen men all in armour, holding spears, screaming, the water red around them from their comrades who had already fallen. Then she saw these creatures, half the size of an average man and not as built, purple and blue scales covering their bodies, eyes like a snakes, sharp claws and teeth that ripped straight through the soldiers armour and flesh. No weapons but the fangs and claws they had been created with and they were winning. There were more men lying on the ground than standing and fighting.

" _My king do you intend to wait out the battle or- then again they were magic but so was this place._

"Let's go Stolas," Sakura said narrowing her eyes

" _Wouldn't the poison spread through the water out of your control my king?" asked Beleth_

Sakura paused, she hadn't thought of that now and she doubted she could use Beleth because who could use flames underwater?

'Dammit!' Sakura thought frustrated, Sitri really would've been useful in this situation right now. She could've created a whirlwind or something but no!

'I am going to kill Sinbad!'

" _My king you said that at Artemyra and ended up helping the boy," Stolas stated "Correct me if I'm wrong but while you appear to harness a deep anger for the other king's candidate you protect him whenever others perceive to threaten him."_

" _I have been with my king since before she met him, and I have to say I noticed the pattern as well. They have shared a lot of fond-_

As Sakura's mind flashed back to the kiss she clenched her fists "Okay if you two aren't going to help the least you can do is shut up while I do."

She rushed forward and began attacking the creatures, chakra coated fists punching the sea monsters through the water and into the odd plants and rocks.

"Who are you?" asked one of the soldiers

"Identify yourself!"

Rolling her eyes but otherwise ignoring the men Sakura continued attacking, it had been a while since she used her own power and the feeling with every punch and kick were sending chills of pleasure through her body. She knew she would prefer it this way, using the strength that had taken her years to gain rather than the power she obtained in a few hours, djinn equip took a long while to master but once she got the basics the rest didn't come with much challenge. But with her strength, her medical abilities, this all came with long hard training that made her feel like a true ninja.

'This is what I am,' Sakura thought as she continued to fight the sea creatures, they were now fully aware of her and were attacking by the dozens. Their fangs bared at her ready to rip through but she wouldn't allow it. Her defence level was high from her training, for if she couldn't dodge then who would be there to heal her team? That was one of the fundamentals, one of the first she had learned from her master and even though there were times she would ignore these lessons due to her own reckless nature, she never forgot them.

In less than ten minutes Sakura was watching the creatures swim away though she doubted they'd be gone for very long, the monsters in dungeons were relentless. Watching the last one leave Sakura's shoulders sagged as she looked around, it seemed that most of the men had suffered grave injuries while others….were not as lucky. Immediately Sakura went to healing those she knew she could save while continuing to ignore the few men that still stood. Sadly they wouldn't ignore her because she felt a blade being pressed to her throat.

"You girl, state your name and business here."

"My name as well as my business isn't something I'm obliged to tell you." Sakura replied in a calm tone "Now would you remove that blade before your comrade here bleeds to death?"

"How dare yo-

"Leave her," a firm voice stood above all the rest, the men moved out of the way and Sakura had to keep herself from appearing shocked. There was a young boy round about her more or less, deep crimson hair and sharp red eyes looking at her with such scrutiny as if trying to decipher her. He was watching her hand that was currently glowing green from her chakra, she caught the hidden curiosity behind them but chose to ignore it as she tended to whoever she could.

"But Lord Kouen-

"She said she was healing them and look."

They watched as the wounds on one of the men began closing in awe, though this boy appeared unaffected by it.

"H-How?" asked one of the men "Are you a magician?"

"No, I'm not." Sakura responded curtly before moving onto the next man with an injured leg that looked it had a drill shoved through it. A few minutes later Sakura managed to heal quite a few men before she prepared to head off further into the dungeon.

"Well I've finished," Sakura said before she began walking away but then she heard one of the men call her again.

"Hey girl get back here!"

She kept walking.

"Girl."

Sakura stopped and looked over her shoulder, her eyes went to the young boy she learned was named Kouen, though he was the youngest, he had an aura of dominance around him that told her instantly he was the leader of this group so she addressed him.

"If you don't want the rest of your men to get injured or worse, I suggest you stay here."

"While you venture further and get the treasure that this dungeon holds?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, it was apparent that this boy knew about the dungeon but how much exactly was the question she was worried about answering.

Sakura stared at the young man and he did the same getting closer towards her, emerald meeting crimson, they fell in silence both waiting for the other to yield in some way, they didn't say anything but their postures and eyes spoke in volumes. Both wanted explanations to questions they weren't going to ask because they were trying to bid the other to speak without having to.

The soldiers looked between the two youngsters with confusion unknown to the battle; until finally they both broke eye contact at the same time, each reacting to the eight pointed start that appeared on one of their accessories.

Sakura glanced at Stolas's metal vessel and then to Kouen, she saw spaulder with the star.

'Oh great,'

It would've been hard enough to deal with someone who wanted the dungeons power and was a novice but an experienced capturer even if he only had one djinn was going to make her task all the more difficult.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked narrowing her eyes

"I do not see why you are allowed to keep your identity obscured and I don't," he replied calmly but challenging and nearly arrogant.

"My names Sakura Haruno, I'm a traveller." Sakura responded with a bit of vice laced in her tone "Who are you?"

"Kouen Ren," he stated

"That doesn't tell me who you are." Sakura said

Then one of the soldiers spoke "He is the imperial prince of the Kou Empire so you'd better show some respect girl."

Kou, Sakura recalled in Sasan when Yunan brought up the Kou Empire to them, it was one of the countries where dungeons began appearing….

" _And I'm guessing he was the one to capture the dungeon." Stolas said_

'I think you're right.'

"Interesting," Kouen said suddenly taking her away from her thoughts "My first time encountering another dungeon capturer and it happens to be someone who has captured multiple djinns."

Sakura's hand twitched near Stolas's vessel, there was a flutter around this person that shook her to her core, he reminded her a bit of Sinbad but much more serious-though the level of arrogance they both portrayed seemed to be on equal level as far as she could tell.

"Don't bother," Kouen told her and she realised he had noticed her intensions of readying for a fight.

Sakura drew back and began walking away again seeing a large uninviting cave in the distance, she only had one objective in mind right now and she was going to achieve it.  
"Hey just where do you think you're going girl?"

"That's right Lord Kouen will be the one to capture this tower!"

It seemed that there were still some arrogant men in the bunch but Sakura didn't really blame them, their pride must have been badly wounded having been saved by a girl. Their duty failed.

Sakura addressed Kouen while she continued to walk away "If you were a real conqueror you wouldn't need soldier's to aid you on a quest to prove you're worthy of a djinn."

She looked back again at a stoic expressed Kouen "Princes belong in a palace, soldiers belong outside the gates of it guarding against phantoms."

The men were definitely offended by that statement "HOW DARE YOU, WE FIGHT TO PROTECT OUR NATIONS. We fight wars."

"No, you don't." Sakura stated "You make civilians fight your wars. Take my advice and don't try progressing because I have no intention of saving you a second time. Reality is all a party this large does is draw unnecessary attention and in a place like this that is especially dangers."

Sakura then walked away.

" _My king that was a bit harsh," said Beleth "A dungeon is for everyone, it does not matter who you are on the outside, a djinn will take those they feel are worthy of them after the trial in their domain."_

'It was necessary,'

" _Ah I see, you do not want these men to interfere because you worry for their lives."_

'No I am only convinced that they will slow me down and I'd rather not compete for the djinn,'

" _You have a kind heart my king, even if you refuse to admit it," Stolas told her_

Sakura paused only for a second before giving a response.

'The kind hearts are usually the one's that stop beating first.'

* * *

Sinbad leaned against the side of the ship both of his hands occupied, leaning his face on his left while twirling a certain hairpiece he had taken from a certain pinkette, the djinns star eminent on it. He grinned recalling the actions he had taken in order to get the metal vessel.

" _Master that was a very underhanded move," Baal said_

Sinbad frowned 'Come now Ball, you're not still going on about it are you?'

Ever since he had grabbed Sitri he has had his djinns constantly questioning him and scolding him for his actions.

" _You stole another king's candidate's djinn," Baal said_

 _Then Valefor joined in "And the means you used to get it was….."_

'I couldn't help myself alright, I admit it was wrong but she'll get it when she come for it,'

" _I worry about your intentions for the poor girl my king,' said Valefor_

" _I worry about what she's going to do to our king if she does come for Sitri."_

Sinbad frowned 'If?'

" _Did it not occur that she may have needed her djinn my king?" asked Baal_

'She has two others,' Sinbad argued 'Plus she's strong on her own and a healer,'

' _Yes but certain djinns are more qualified for certain tasks and battles,' Valefor pointed out 'It was rather cruel and not long after having your own metal vessels stolen I'm surprise how easy it was for you to do the same,'_

Sinbad sighed and looked at the ornament in his hand, the one he had given her…..that day they spent together, thinking back caused a pleasant feeling to wash over him.

'Sakura will be fine,' Sinbad said 'She's stronger than any man I've ever met,'

' _But she is still a women and they usually have the outstanding ability to hold grudges,' pointed Valefor 'And you my king stole her first kiss.'_

Sinbad started coughing like he was choking "Wait that was her first-

"Sinbad!" Ja'far smacked his friend and leader from the back of his head causing Sinbad to jump

"Ja'far what the heck!?"

"You're day dreaming again! Would you get your head out of the clouds and what were you yelling about?"

Sinbad's averted his eyes nervously "Nothing…"

Ja'far raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, after all this time he had gotten use to Sinbad's bad habits and behavioural issues but this starring up at the clouds and muttering to himself was not natural. Ja'far noticed he wasn't quite himself after he had apparently seen Sakura off, Ja'far wanted to see her himself, Sinbad explained to them that she was in Artemyra and helped them escape the valley.

"Is it about Sakura?"

Sinbad actually jumped, his face showing utter surprise but he held his hands out in defence "No of course not!"

Ja'far then saw the hair pin in Sinbad's hands "What is that?"

Quickly retracting his hands behind his back Sinbad played coy "I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Sinbad…." Ja'far narrowed his eyes "What did you do?"

"Nothing! Geez Ja'far would it kill you to have a little faith in me?"

Ja'far decided not to press the issue any further and started walking away "It almost killed me before,"

Sinbad sighed in relief, it was bad enough his djinns were giving him a hard time, Ja'far on the other hand would not be as merciful. He then returned to the matter.

'What do you mean her first kiss?'

" _Sitri told me she's certain that was her master's first kiss," explained Valefor_

Sinbad's hand touched his lips, he did not think that…..his face suddenly broke out into a huge grin

'First kiss huh?'

* * *

Sakura felt a wave of irritation wash over her as she continued making her way through the dark cave, she paused and glanced around. There have been so sightings of any monsters or traps or anything and it was beginning to annoy her. If she did not have something to fight or solve then how was she supposed to find the djinn? She didn't want to have to turn back either since she wasn't alone in this dungeon.

'All these tunnels seem to be interconnected' Sakura thought looking at the different paths behind her, it had been nothing but constant twists and turns only to now come to a straight path.

" _What do you mean my king?" asked Beleth_

"It means no matter which way I took back there I was going to come to the same place," she then looked forward to the dark narrow path "I wonder if it's going to be the same from here."

* * *

As some time went by Sakura continued to wander through the cave and three hours later along with endless twists and turns she finally came out of the narrow area and into a slightly larger one. There wasn't much there though aside from more space. The ground was softer as well, she felt her feet sink slightly into the sand as she entered the area.

' _Perhaps this is a dead end my king?' asked Stolas_

"Better not be," Sakura said out loud looking around carefully "I am not in a patient mood."

" _Were you ever my king?" asked Beleth_

Ignoring her djinn Sakura continued to search from top to bottom around the cave but there didn't seem to be anything else. With a frustrated huff she stomped her foot.

"Dammit, I'm going to have to head back," Sakura said turning around.

"So you are here."

Sakura's head snapped up, she saw Kouen standing where she had entered, the stoic expression reminded her a bit of Sasuke though only to a certain degree.

"So are you," Sakura stated and then realised that none of the other men appeared to be with him. "You left you soldiers behind?"

"You were the one who made the suggestion,"

"I didn't suggest you leave them to fend for themselves considering most of those men are injured," Sakura pointed and after being met with stony silence from the Kou Empire's prince she continued "What are you doing here?"

"I'm answering your challenge,"

Sakura raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, she did not recall challenging him in anyway "I did not challenge you,"

Suddenly she saw a hint of a smirk on his face and that caused her to take a subtle step back, she preferred it when he wasn't showing any expressions.

"You questioned my authenticity as a conqueror, I took it as a challenge." Kouen stated

Now Sakura was feeling irritated for a different reason, she turned her back to the prince. If he was going to challenge the dungeon as well she didn't have a right to physically stop him. Words were just words depending on who heeded them, it was as her djinn said a dungeon is for everyone.

'Who you are on the outside doesn't matter in here,'

Sakura continued inspecting the dungeon, she wasn't feeling very keen on making conversation with the prince and on that level their seemed to be a mutual understanding although Kouen's eyes shinned with a glimmer of curiosity he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction in letting her know that.

Feeling something brush against her foot Sakura froze and looked down but there was nothing….she narrowed her eyes.

'What was that?'

" _Is something wrong my king?" asked Beleth_

'I thought I felt-

"Ngh!" Sakura gasped and fell on her knees as she felt something pierce through her flesh, she looked back at her leg and saw an odd creature resembling a fish only it had large beady white eyes, black scales that looked as hard as armour and razor sharp teeth that was currently chomping into her leg.

Sakura quickly grabbed the beast, feeling its hard scales under her she used her super strength to grip it so hard it let out a terrible screech before it died under her hands. It was ironic how hands that healed could also crush so easily.

Prying the mouth off her leg Sakura hissed before she started removing some of its teeth that had gotten in too deep.

Kouen looked at her "That creature appeared from the sand,"

"I can see that genius," Sakura hissed "It also nearly bit my freaking leg off."

"I suggest you stand up quick," Kouen said, though his eyes seemed to be looking around the rest of the area.

"Why-

Another came out of the sand and this time it headed for Sakura's face but before it could reach Kouen managed to send it back with a quick kick not having time to draw his sword but when he saw the creature scurry back into the sand he drew his weapon.

Sakura got to her feet as well, she began healing her wound feeling it close while she kept her eyes on the flood.

'First an underwater dungeon and now fish that try to eat you what's next?' Sakura thought holding up her fists.

For a few minutes everything was silent as Kouen and Sakura readied themselves, then in a flash almost too quick to react they were attacked. Dozens upon dozens of the monsters appeared, their screeching filled the room while Sakura and Kouen defended themselves. Sakura ducked and dodged before countering, her monster strength defeating the monster fish while Kouen used his sword to defend himself but they soon discovered that the blade wouldn't pierce through the thick scales. Sakura's punches caused a bit more damage but it wasn't killing them.

"Your swords functioning little more than a bat," Sakura stated

"Your fists don't appear to be making progress either," Kouen replied with a hint of venom in his voice.

Sakura wasn't a real swords master, the only weapons she worked with were throwing stars and kunai knives; it had taken a while for her just to get the hang of Sitri's spear but in the end she did not have any real swordsmen skills, all she could do was swing it around and let her body react accordingly.,, but there was one thing she excelled at and that was her chakra control.

Bringing her arms up to her chest in a cross Sakura made the chakra in her hands sharpen, she hadn't tried this before but she had seen it done. Sharpening chakra like a blade.

The next creature that tried to attack her was the first to get sliced in half, blood splattered on the ground. Sakura smirked satisfied. She saw one of the beasts about to come up from behind Kouen when she slashed straight through. Kouen turned around and looked at the now dead fish monster and then at Sakura.

"How's that for progress?" she asked before resuming to fight

As time went by Sakura had managed to slash and kill over three dozen dungeon monsters, she watched as they sunk into the sand again and panted softly. It didn't seem like there were any more coming up.

Or so they thought.

The sand beneath them shifted and what appeared to be hundreds of the little monsters appeared barring their teeth at them threateningly. Sakura and Kouen continued stepping to the back until they collided with one another causing an abrupt halt.

"It would seem they plan on charging at us all at once." Kouen stated

Sakura grunted in response "Guess I've got no choice…."

" _My king?"_

"I'd hold my breath if I were you," Sakura said before she transformed into Sitri's djinn equip. Kouen watched her with calculating eyes though she caught the surprise he attempted to mask.

A mist surrounded Sakura's staff as she raised it into the air and then uttered "Almawt dabab!" (death mist)

The magenta mist began changing colour and became black, Sakura then plunged the staff into the ground as deep as she could before unleashing the poison. A black fog began to rise from the ground.

"Don't breathe," Sakura warned Kouen watching as it went it took its toll on the dungeon monsters, they began to spasm and weren't swimming, and they flapped their tails as they lied on their sides. One of Stolas's most dangerous attacks (one she thought she wouldn't ever use). As the monsters vanished something appeared in the centre of the room literally out of nowhere and floating. It looked like a pearl, shiny and white. Sakura took it through the mist.

'This must be a key,' she thought

Sakura looked over at Kouen and while he held a calm expression she could tell he was still holding his breath. She attempted to draw back the poison but found that the water was almost….pulling, not allowing her to retrieve it.

" _My king in dungeons a djinns magic outmatches other's" Stolas explained_

" _Which means we are overpowered," said Beleth_

 **I know it's super short but there is a reason for it, I haven't been writing very much because I'm catching up on my readings and I was going to write just one chapter with everything happening but then I figured I didn't know when I was going to finish but luckily I've already started on the next chapter and that should be done in a little while, I find time after I do all of my work for the day and that gives me like thirty minutes a day so I apologise. I know it must be a bit of a surprise that I had her end up in a dungeon meeting Kouen of all people but I figured it must've been about this time he got his first djinn not too long after Sinbad since he had captured the second dungeon-I'm assuming it was Judal who summoned that dungeon.**

 **ALSO: I corrected two mistakes I've made in this chapter, one was accidently writing Sitri's djin equip instead of Stolas**

 **Second: I said that Kouen was the FIRST imperial prince but then I realised after many calculations that the first Kou emperor and his children wouldn't be dead for another TWO years and I also managed to predict their current ages at this point.**

 **Hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to review!**


	17. battle-victory-secrets-BLACKMAILl

**Well everyone here's another chapter for you, I am currently on a short break this week from university so I've had some time to write but of course there's a lot of work I have to do even when on break. I've fixed certain errors in the last chapter, I had forgotten to take into consideration the timelines for one thing and accidently said that Kouen was the First imperial prince but he doesn't become the first prince until after the fire that kills the first emperor of Kou and his eldest sons therefore right now Kouen is just a prince (I had to look that up) And I fixed the one mistake I made when I accidently wrote Sitri instead of Stolas. So that's cleared up, if you've already read the last chapter there's no need to go back, nothing has changed there and I hope you enjoy this chapter**

* * *

'I did not think this through,' Sakura thought looking around again before mentally smacking herself 'What's the point there's nothing here,'

She gestured to the entrance to Kouen but before they could head in that direction there was a low rumbling and on the other side to where there was nothing before now stood a gate in the shape of a shell. With a final glance at one another they rushed forward getting out of Stolas's mist-Sakura still clutching the pearl.

* * *

They were now walking through a narrowly lit path again. Sakura stared at the pearl, usually in situations like these there were objects that were used as key's to open gates and now that she had the key she had to figure out where the gate was and then….she glanced to her side where Kouen was walking.

'What the hell is going on here? Are we seriously going to travel through this dungeon together?'

 _Beleth spoke 'He doesn't seem to mind my king."_

'I am not going to let this guy slow me down,'

' _There is only one path to take right now my king,' Stolas reasoned_

"So one of your djinns are able to produce poison," Kouen said breaking the silence "An earlier warning might've been appreciated."

Sakura's head snapped over to Kouen as she continued to walk reverting to her original form from Stolas's djinn equip "I did tell you to hold your breath during that attack."

"But you did not mention the poison."

Sakura grumbled something under her breath about 'ungrateful rich brats' who couldn't do anything but swing around a metal stick when something else occurred to her.

"You have a djinn yourself, why didn't you use it?" Sakura asked frowning, his sword wasn't doing much damage expect keeping the creatures at bay.

"I was considering," Kouen said but after that he didn't' say anything else and Sakura was waiting for an explanation.

"But?"

"I chose not to," he said and his tone told her he wasn't going to explain further.

'There's something weird going on here,' Sakura concluded eyeing him suspiciously. She began thinking, there was another dungeon capturer and he was young, almost hers and Sinbad's age….so when did he acquire a djinn?

"What dungeon did you conquer?" Sakura asked

Kouen just looked at her like and she frowned deeper until he told her "The second,"

"When?" she asked "What year?"

"End of last year." He replied without hesitations as if it wouldn't affect him-which was probably right.

Now it made sense, having captured a dungeon this early he still must be mastering his djinn equip, that was the only explanation she could come up with, why he hadn't used his djinns powers. Then again there was still the weapons he could've used and that was something that came much more easily.

"That explains it," Sakura said "You can't use a full djinn equip yet."

The eerie silence was all Sakura needed to confirm her suspicions-or so she believed.

"So you have probably acquired your djinns earlier then."

Sakura nodded, though she chose not to specify when exactly she had gotten the djinns. After Sinbad had conquered his first dungeon there have been other's that appeared and Yunan had mentioned a few other dungeon capturer.

* * *

Silence falling over them again as they continued making their way through the tunnel. A few minutes passed and then they came to yet another part of the dungeon that was out of the normal setting.

"The gate," Sakura said looking at the shell-shaped gate with a round slot in the centre, no doubt for the key she had earned from the last battle. It was in their sights but the problem…there was no longer a path for them to walk on and bellow them where it ended was what appeared to be a deep dark hole.

"That worries me," Sakura stated looking down

"We're underwater, it shouldn't be a problem to swim over." Kouen told her

"I'm aware,"

But something felt off, this was usually the part of the dungeon where things got really complicated. The final round before reaching the goal…

" _Do not fear my king," said Stolas "We are still here with you."_

" _That is right and we shall be with you till the end." Reassured Beleth_

'Thank you,' Sakura smiled

"You know," Sakura began "Beyond that gate will probably be the djinn,"

"Perhaps."

"So what are you going to do?" she asked placing a hand on her hip "With two after the djinn we'll probably be given a final test of some kind that'll result in facing off against one another."

"I was already aware of that. Why not say it straight out, you want me to stand down if given a final challenge by the djinn."

"It would make it easier of course I don't expect you to back out that easily," Sakura told him "Just wanted to straighten things out before then."

Kouen turned back ahead to the gate, his expression near blank "Don't state the obvious, I would rather concern myself getting there first."

Sakura glared at him in response before she prepared to leap off the edge of the path and begin swimming but the instant she did that she knew something was wrong. Over the dark edge, it felt as if gravity was pulling her body down, a current- she wasn't sure but it was strong and she felt herself being pulled down. She began kicking, pushing chakra to her legs, but it was still proving a challenge and the further she got the gate the stronger the pull seemed. Another problem, it was becoming difficult to breathe all of a sudden, as if the water had lost its magical properties. She felt like she was slowing down, her body giving into the pull. If she went any lower she was certain she would be sucked down.

'This is bad,'

Glancing behind her she saw Kouen sinking down to the dark abyss, she wasn't sure what was down there-maybe the ground-maybe nothing. That didn't matter because it seemed Kouen was about to find out. Even when he was basically drowning Sakura barely saw a shift in Kouen's face, though in his eyes there was concern. Whatever magic was causing them to breath underwater was almost none existing now.

" _My king you must go now!" exclaimed Stolas "This is magic pulling you down,"_

'I can't just let him die!' Sakura said back to them as she swam further towards Kouen, he looked at her with a frown as she held out her hand towards him. He was clearly telling her to go on but she obviously wasn't going to listen.

Then the pull suddenly seemed to grow stronger than ever before, pulling onto Sakura like heavy chains with weights, sinking her, her strength useless to stop it. Darkness surrounded her while she kept her eyes open, she started feeling around wondering what happened to Kouen.

The further she seemed to sink, the quicker the air seemed to leave and soon she knew she was drowning. Her eyes began to close, her body being dragged down; her djinns voices were drowned out.

'No way, this can't be happening, I can't die, not here….'

Her mind wondered to the last two years of her life that had gone by in this world, her friends back in her old one and then the new ones she had made in this one. She was never going to see either again when she died. Sitri's words also came to mind, where would she go when she died? Return to the rukh? How could she when she never came from them? Maybe this would all turn out to be a dream and she'd wake up in her world, back in her bed, in her apartment with her family….would she want that? For all of this to be a dream?

'No' Sakura thought smiling slightly 'I wouldn't want that, I wouldn't want this to be a dream because that would mean I never really met you…..Sinbad.'

The last thing she saw was a bright light and then something coming towards her that looked like lion….?

… _._

… _._

… _._

… _._

… _._

… _._

… _._

… _._

… _._

… _._

…

" _Where am I?"_

 _When opening her eyes Sakura found herself in the sky, standing on nothing but air; her body felt like it did when one was in a dream state, that feeling of being there and at the same time knowing you were not, that distance you had when you could see everything from all perspectives and not just from within your body but like an observer outside._

 _Looking down she saw an oval shaped stone structure she's come to recognise as a coliseum. The distinct sound of cheering from the many observers caught her eyes. It was just like the time when she and Sinbad gave their performances but it was different all together, there was a feeling of uneasiness washing over her. She was well aware of the true purposes of these coliseums and she was sure that whatever was about to commence was what had these people emit the bloodthirsty aura she felt even though she knew she wasn't actually there-she could see it in their eyes._

 _She wanted to move closer, natural curiosity taking hold of her, she felt as if the world zoomed in for her and she was closer to everything. Closer to the audience and to the arena yet none seemed to see her._

' _This must be what it's like to be a phantom,' she concluded humourlessly before looking on to the arena._

 _There were cries of excitement that grew to such a degree it would drown out everything and Sakura thought they sounded too real to be a dream. One of the gates opened and a figure emerged from the darkness shocking her when the figure reached the sunlight becoming visible to all._

 _There-clad in gold armour with a confident smirk taking an equally confident stride to the centre of the ring was Sinbad!_

 _Sakura couldn't makes sense of this, why was she having a dream like this?_

' _Why would I?'_

 _Then the voices of the audience reached her ears._

" _I heard this is the dungeon capturer."_

" _Yes, Sinbad."_

" _Why is he here?"_

" _Well these are some rumours. Apparently his company fell in debt with Mariadel Company."_

" _So they are issuing a match?"_

" _Yes and if he loses this match he will become the property of Lady Madaura."_

' _Property?' Sakura wondered_

" _You mean the great conqueror will become her slave?'_

 _Sakura's eyes widened as the word slave was mentioned, she looked back as she heard the match was about to commence and Sinbad's opponent was about to appear._

" _Representing the Mariadel Company, a warrior of renowned military service known by all here on Ria Venus Island. With teeth strong to tear down to the bone if he gets a hold of his opponents neck, the red beast has sent over one hundred gladiators to their graves."_

' _This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real," Sakura kept telling herself yet she felt this disturbance wash over her as another person stepped into the arena. Another figure appeared from the dust as the doors opened, only much smaller than Sinbad, chains wrapped around dainty ankles-the ankles of a child but Sakura's panic didn't die especially when she saw the familiar red hair and eyes-a fanalis she recalled._

' _This has to be a dream,' Sakura kept telling herself, a dreadfully realistic dream._

 _Sinbad immediately began to protest against fighting a boy who couldn't even be ten, he was so busy yelling at the spectators he barely missed the gigantic blade aimed at his head._

' _Oh god!' Sakura gasped covering her mouth, where was Sinbad's metal vessels? If there was ever a time he needed them it would be now. Having heard about the strength of a fanalis from one Sakura knew that Sinbad was going to have trouble._

 _Sinbad was clearly still recovering from his shock as he avoided the sword the fanalis boy was swinging at him but Sinbad wasn't trying to attack back yet-it didn't seem like he was going to get an opening though._

' _So fast!' Sakura trembled, even though this was just a dream, just a dream that's what she told herself but that belief seemed to be like a thin line of thread about to snap with each swing of the Fanalis boy's sword and every time Sinbad narrowly escaped it._

 _Sakura felt her heart jump a little when Sinbad ducked down as the sword was swung so hard it cut through the arena wall on one side._

 _While Sakura panicked the rest of the crowd cheered with joy at the exciting match._

' _This is really bad,' Sakura thought biting her lip as she peered at the crowd and then turned back to Sinbad only to see a change in expression on his face, his stood with his legs apart and firmly planted on the ground, holding up his sword with a confident enthusiasm that seemed all too familiar with Sakura. It was what she saw right before Sinbad won a battle, he was always able to predict his opponent's movements nearly before they made it and now…._

' _He's got those same eyes,' Sakura thought feeling a glimmer of hope 'Come on Sinbad, you can do it."_

 _The next time the sword was swung Sinbad used his own to glide across the gigantic weapon while saying something to the child that Sakura couldn't make out and then as he reached the hilt to where the boy stood with surprise on his face Sinbad prepared to swing his sword-only for the fanalis to drop his own, clench his tiny fist and then with one swift motion burry it in Sinbad's armoured chest-cracking it and rendering the great dungeon conqueror unconscious._

 _The entire arena fell silent while Sakura stared in horror, this immense pain engulfed her senses as she recalled what one of the men said. If he lost then Sinbad would become-_

" _A slave…."_

 _She felt like crying yet no tears would form; she was becoming numb and it was hard to breathe all of a sudden._

" _No…." she started in a small voice and then let out an even louder one, covering her face with her hands "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"_

* * *

The second her eyes opened again Sakura was no longer in the coliseum but back in the dungeon and Kouen was looking over her, his arms held on either side of her and his face unbelievably close to hers. She felt as if his eyes were trying to burn a hole through hers for unknown reasons.

"You're finally awake, now we can get a move on," he said moving away

Sakura blinked a few times before sitting up with a small groan, as she lifted herself she began taking in the scenery which seemed different, a lot different in fact she wasn't even sure if they were in the dungeon anymore. They weren't underwater any longer but on top of it, there was a light blue sky above their heads with large puffy yellow clouds, a small comforting breeze could be felt against her skin, there were stones stacked oddly on top of one another like pillars, there were small isles with bridges linking one to the other and some with stepping stones following further into the distance was an enormous structure resembling a castle made of crystal-it was so magnificent it dulled the simple beauty of its surrounding landscape.

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere in the dungeon," Kouen responded

It was then that Sakura got a good look at Kouen as well, his hair was wilder resembling a lions maim, he took on a more childlike appearance yet despite this his eyes were still hard and calculating (which might've been why she only really noticed the change now), his arms were scaly, his hands were now claws and he had a tail, there was a tattoo around his right eye….it was clear what this was.

Attempting to appear disinterested she spoke "I thought you said you couldn't do a djinn equip?"

"I never said that I couldn't, you drew up that conclusion yourself."

"Well you didn't really respond so drawing up a conclusion was my only option," Sakura said with a snippy tone. "What exactly happened after I black out though?"

Kouen seemed to fall silent for a moment or two before responding "The waters current was pulling us to the bottom, I used my djinn equip to get us to the gate and used the key, after we were transported here."

The explanation cleared up enough for Sakura and then another question came to mind "Why the heck were you leaning over me?"

"You stopped breathing,"

Sakura visibly stiffed, being a medic she was well aware of the procedure to restore respiratory function of course she's never had to do it herself but….she was still aware. Not wanting to appear bashful or naïve she resisted the urge to touch her lips. She did not want to give someone like Kouen the satisfaction of seeing her petrified over something like that-especially from him. Men and boys egos were big enough without someone inflating them on the condition of embarrassing themselves.

"Oh,"

Changing back to his original form Kouen started walking away.

"We're wasting time sitting here, let's move."

Sakura stood up knocking the side of her head where she felt like water had slipped in her ear, while she did that she also tried knocking away the dream of Sinbad becoming a slave, it was too realistic for her liking.

"You know, you could've made this conquest a little easier and left me to die, get rid of the competition and gain the djinns power without complications"

It was a true and honest statement though testing in a way, she was becoming curious about Kouen and a tiny part of her wouldn't be satisfied unlit she knew something about this boy who kept himself as distant from her as she did from him.

Kouen stopped and peered back to her "You're very presumptuous,"

Sakura shrugged "I'd like to think of myself as analytical. Calling it as the signs identify."

When Sakura was met with nothing but Kouen's stony silence she stood her ground starring right at him with the same strong gaze until finally he yielded-or so she thought.

"You did the same did you not?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes in response; her eyes became guarded when she saw the smirk on Kouen's face. She knew he was referring to earlier when she went back for him.

"You could've left me to drown as well yet you chose to turn back to help-though what appeared to be a futile attempt."

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"Besides, I don't consider you competition."

A blunt statement could never have cut deeper.

Sakura felt a bubble of anger building inside of her ready to burst at any moment and it would if this conversation continued. She wasn't in the most emotionally stable condition when she entered the dungeon in the first place which made her buttons fairly easy to push but it made her retaliation all the more dangerous as well.

"Well excuse me, next time I will be more than happy to let you drown" Sakura hissed before she stomped passed him in the direction of the castle.

'All men annoy the hell out of me'

" _My king if I may asked, what were you dreaming about?"_

'Huh?"

" _You appeared to be dreaming about something quite terrifying," Stolas told her_

'It was nothing, just a bad dream.'

* * *

The closer the pair got to their next destination within the dungeon there was a build in tension between the two. They knew they were at the final stage of their journey through the dungeon as they stepped into the crystal palace that appeared to float above water almost as if it weighed nothing. The light reflected against the crystals structure and produced different rays of colour, their footsteps echoed against the floor as they came to the treasure hall. Gold and silver decorated the entire perimeter of the walls.

At the end of the room stood a dagger within a beam of light, producing a bright light the djinn appeared. A male djinn, blue skinned like all djinn with long silver hair that faded into pink and blue, he wore a white robe that exposed his toned arms.

"I am the djinn of the thirty third dungeon Gaap-the djinn of inclination and consonance tell me who shall become king?" he asked glaring down at the two dungeon capturers, his eyes scanned both with scrutiny and then he raised his eyebrow "Two and both who already possess the power of djinn?"

Sakura and Kouen didn't spare a glance to one another, their eyes fixated on the djinn.

"How greedy….state your names."

'Rude,' Sakura thought but complied either way

"Sakura Haruno, I'm a traveller."

"Kouen Ren, a prince of the Kou Empire."

Gaap seemed to squint his eyes "A traveller and a prince…? What is your purpose for coming to this dungeon? What is it you desire?"

"Well," Sakura started presenting the Looking glass "What I'm really after is the shard….so if I could get that then it wouldn't matter to me whether or not you became my metal vessel."

Now both Kouen and Gaap appeared intrigued "An interloper, that's a first but it would explain all of your other metal vessels."

"The djinn calls you an interloper, what is that?" Kouen asked

Sakura remained quiet, the term wasn't all that familiar to her but she knew she fit the context.

"That is correct, she is an interloper because she is not from this world."

Kouen's head turned to Sakura "Not from this world?"

'Dammit,' Sakura looked up at the djinn frowning and he laughed

"Oh I see, you were keeping it a secret!"

Sakura was known by a friends for having a short fuse, especially when certain individuals think it safe to make a fool of her but had it not been for the fact that this djinn had something she wanted, she would've already delivered a chakra coated punch to the djinns jaw.

'Calm down, calm down,' she repeated to herself

Gaap placed his hand on his face in thought "So difficult to decide, both are already metal vessel users already, both have come for different purposes and both clearly with different drawbacks…..ah what to do what to do?"

Now she just felt like the djinn was mocking them, Kouen didn't' seem the least bit affected. Sakura looked at Kouen.

"If I let you have this djinn would you give me permission to collect something from it after?"

Kouen raised his eyebrow "Collect?"

"Oh she's talking about the shard I have in my possession, she has to collect these shards but the only way is to get permission from the djinns conqueror or get the djinn herself."

Sakura was really not enjoying the little biography of a mission she hadn't revealed much about even to those she was close with and Kouen was someone she had just met hours ago.

"So there is more to this girl than simply being one of Sinbad's companions."

It was a statement that had Sakura grab the prince by his clothing and pull him near her, she glared straight into his eyes, her breathing harsh.

"How do you know about that!?"

Kouen didn't seem stirred by her brash actions "Strange, you lived the stories I thought you'd remember them."

Then it clicked, Sinbad's stories, when he began writing them Sakura requested he take out any aspects of her in his stories at the time she did not want to leave behind anything in this world that would have people question and make complications since that's usually what curiosity lead to. Though it seems he did not listen to her, it was the reason she didn't write her own stories, she thought he'd at least change her name but it seems she was wrong.

'I am going to kill Sinbad,'

" _If you got a shard after every time you've used that phrase or insinuated it my king," Stolas said_

'I'd already be home.' Sakura thought with a humourless smile on her face, she was still drifting to that dreadful dream of Sinbad-in a way it made her want to get to him sooner.

Kouen-who was still trapped in Sakura's hold looked at her questioning her smile before it vanished, she released him and shoved him away folding her arms over her chest turning to Gaap.

"Can you just tell me what it's going to take to get the damn shard?"

Gaap raised his eyebrows "Since you are so disinterested in me perhaps I should choose the young man then?"

Sakura gritted her teeth "I don't care as long as I get that shard."

"Then how about this," snapping his fingers the treasure room's floor began filling with water slowly. Sakura and Kouen looked down at their shoes which were now being soaked through.

Gaap held out his hands and two swords appeared landing in the ground one in front of Sakura and the other in front of Kouen.

"The final challenge is rather simple. You are both clearly very skilled dungeon capturers but I want to know just how useful you are without a djinns power to back you up."

"In other words you want us to dual without using our vessels?" asked Kouen

Gaap nodded "Yes, I want a master with true inner strength and resolve, no matter the consequences."

Sakura then gestured below them "And the reason for sinking your palace?"

"Well I don't want this battle to drag on too long therefore to make things go quick there's a time limit, in exactly ten minutes this dungeon will be below the water and I'm sure you already know my magic is what allowed you to breath before but this time I will only bestow the ability on ONE of you-my new king-only one will leave this dungeon then."

This challenge was not something to be taken lightly, the basic principle was if you lose you die. Death was not a factor many too comfort in and that included the prince and kunoichi.

"I have one condition," Kouen said in an eerily calm tone "I want my men to be returned alive from the dungeon regardless of this duals outcome."

Gaap sighed but nevertheless agreed to the condition "Yes, yes, that was predictable-only my new king and the prince's useless soldiers shall leave the dungeon. Now are the two of you going to start any time?"

Sakura and Kouen reached for the swords and then faced one another, again not saying anything but their eyes reaching one another. A clear message communicated through their eyes a kind of contentment and agreement? They held up their swords and got into fighting stances.

Kouen's strong stance already told Sakura he had quite a few years of training behind him while she herself did not specialise in weapons like the sword but that wasn't something that fazed her.

" _Be very careful my king," warned Beleth_

" _Yes, despite your many talents I worry for the outcome of this match,"_

Sakura decided not to comment, her eyes focused on Kouen who in turn did the same, with their weapons held out they began circling one another as the water began rising up to their ankles already.

They circle

Once…

Twice….

Thrice…

And then Sakura made the first move to attack, which may not always be the best tactic depending on the opponents skill and level of reflex but there was no time to determined that when there literally wasn't a minute to spare but Kouen appeared to have predicted her movements because the second she swung her sword Kouen had ducked and hit her with the hilt of the sword causing her to stumbled after he swung again but Sakura held up the sword using her strength to stop him from breaking her defence creating sparks.

"Your stance is weak, you've clearly had no training in sword arts." Kouen stated though subtle Sakura took note of the arrogance in his tone; watching the pinkette's face scrunch in discomfort.

"I think I've got more than enough skills to make up for that," Sakura said

"If you want me to believe that you'll have to prove it yourself." Kouen told her in a challenging tone, Sakura spotted a hint of a smile on his face after saying that and she didn't plan to disappoint.

"Alright!"

Sakura pushed back watching Kouen take a few steps away from her, she took the chance to attack again but he managed to plant himself firm as their swords clashed but with her chakra enhanced strength she could see how he was struggling and she wasn't even using her full ability yet. She used her strength to lift her sword and slash across Kouen's face to which he managed to evade with a little nick on his cheek.

"How was that prince?" Sakura asked in a mocking tone.

The two drew away from one another before charging forward again, this dance continued for several minutes, one trying to subdue the other but as the battle raged on both parties seemed to be doing very little damage almost as if they were trying to avoid any fatal blows yet at the same time wanted to win the battle. Gaap only seemed to notice it after Kouen got Sakura to lean on her knee and nearly struck on head only to bring his arm up and miss; then also Sakura who clearly overpowered Kouen in terms of physical strength didn't use hers to the advantage and knock him further away.

"Hold on!" Gaap finally called "What do the two of you think you are trying to pull?"

Kouen and Sakura stopped to look at the djinn

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked

"You are aware of the conditions of this challenge correct?" Gaap asked crossing his arms "If you've forgotten I suggest you look down."

The water had already risen up to their knees, it wasn't something that they really ignored given it effected their fighting, the way the water pushed against them slowing them down.

"I thought you would take this more seriously,"

"We are fighting aren't we?" Kouen pointed

"Yes but you are not fighting seriously, either one of you would be able to overpower the other if you used all of your strength power and skills yet you pull back. What do you hope to tire out your opponent and make them yield?"

Sakura remained silent but Kouen decided to speak and what he said surprised both her and the djinn "I'd rather not kill her."

"What?" Gaap asked "You'd give up the power of a djinn for a girl? What is this 'fatal attraction?"

"Not at all, but since I have recently discovered that there is such a thing as another world; I would rather keep her alive since you cannot question a corpse. On top of that she is also a dungeon capturer with skills and information that might benefit me."

"Tell me young prince, what is it that you want to do with your life? What is your ambitions your goal?"

Kouen's appearance suddenly changed, his demeanour went from stoic to something a bit dark and excited. "To unify the world….under one ruler and that ruler is me."

That statement had Sakura thinking back to Sinbad, his goal was also to unify the world yet she knew that the idea of unifying the world for Kouen and Sinbad was very different. Their perspectives and intentions couldn't be further apart but there were times when Sakura believed Sinbad had the ability to take control of the world if he wanted to-perhaps not now but on the path he was going someday maybe….she would never tell him that though because she did not want to entice him and insinuate the idea.

"Why do you insist on wasting time? Kings or not in the end you two are just children." Gaap sighed "Perhaps I should just let you both sink and drown at the bottom of the abyss. Now either fight until you've killed your opponent or keep up that hopeless dance of yours until I drown you both as compensation for my boredom."

"We will not kill each other." Kouen stated

Gaap sighed "Very well then,"

The water began to rise at a rapid rate, it wouldn't been easy to stay afloat had it not been for the odd transparent tentacle shaped arms that reached out for Kouen and Sakura to grab them and keep them down while the water continued to rise now to their waists.

"What are you doing!?" Sakura screamed

Gaap yawned in response "Since you two have made a mockery of me, I am simply going to let you down and wait until a true conqueror appears preferably an adult whose abandoned childish fantasies."

There was a swift 'whiz' that went through the air before Gaap was pulling out a tiny silver sword from his forehead and then looking down at Sakura.

"What is this?"

The pinkette, eyes narrowed and holding nothing but vice lifted herself on her hands kicked at the restrains on her feet breaking them effortlessly with her power and then jumped onto the surface of the water, looking back at Kouen who appeared slightly surprised before heading towards the djinn... Her strides appeared very mechanical and stiff.

"What are you?" Sakura asked

"Excuse me?"

"What are you?" she repeated

"I am the djinn Gaap."

"What is your purpose?" Sakura asked getting closer

"I don't see why you are-

"Answer the question if you want this trial of yours to continue."

Gaap rolled his eyes "A djinn's purpose is to reside in a dungeon and await until a king's candidate worthy of his power appears and then lend him their strength."

"Good so you do know I was afraid you didn't but since you understand I can make something clear to you." Sakura said stopping "Amongst all the other that have entered this dungeon we are the only ones who have made it to this point. We overcame your dungeons traps and monsters. We're here to claim our reward not be questioned on our motives. It not your place. You are here for one reason only and that is to give your power to one of us. Also a king does not take orders from others and a king should not yield to those who are meant to serve them. So for you to think that you can threaten us and make demands of us to kill each other for you-well you are poorly mistaken."

Sakura held up her fist towards the djinn "MAKE ONE MORE DEMAND OF ME AND I WILL SEE TO IT THAT YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SINKS TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS CURSED SEA."

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Gaap laughed, he laughed so much that the entire room actually shook "Now that's the kind of raw fire I was looking for!"

Sakura didn't respond as she watched the djinn come down from his high wiping a tear from his eye

"You my dear interloper will make a marvellous king. You have true inner strength, the strength not to surrender your ways and beliefs despite the circumstances. Oh you must be my king"

Sakura only glared harder in response "And if I decide I don't want you to be one of my metal vessels?"

"Well I suppose I would have to go to that red head prince but…..I don't think that's really an option." Gaap pointed behind her and Sakura gasped when she saw that the water had risen completely above Kouen's head-and he didn't even give any indication of it! Sakura didn't noticed because she was walking on top of the water's surface.

"The floods will not stop hence the best option would be the leave this dungeon and that can only be done if I become a metal vessel." Gaap told her

"Fine then," Sakura stated "Become my metal vessel and give me your power."

Gaap smiled and bowed "As you command my king,"

With that he vanished into the dagger that they had first seen before Gaap appeared, after securing it around her waist Sakura took a breath before releasing the chakra from her feet and sinking back underwater, she swam towards Kouen-even drowning he appeared less panicked and more frustrated.

When she reached him Sakura gripped his shoulders before colliding her mouth with his and breathing air into his chest. Neither Sakura nor Kouen closed their eyes before they were engulfed by a powerful light and then slipped into darkness.

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When they opened their eyes again, they were back in the outside world, surrounded by the many sacs filled with treasure that shimmered under the moonlight there was no sign of the men that had accompanied the Kou prince though but Sakura had been able to reassure him once Gaap reassured her of their whereabouts.

" _I transported them a little nearer to their city,"_

'You couldn't have thought to do the same for us because?' Sakura asked

" _I figured you might want some alone time with the prince my king," Gaap said with a mischievous and playful tone_

Sakura frowned fully aware of what Gaap was insinuating 'There was no reason for that I can assure you.'

" _Oh my king is not interested in the company of men?"_

 _Stolas interjected "It is more like our king is only interested in the company of one particular man."_

" _Oh?" Gaap asked intrigued "So she already has a companion to share her moments of intimacy?"_

" _Perhaps though it did take him two years to steal what our king gave to this prince in a few hours"_

" _STOLAS, GAAP CEASE THIS INSOLENT GOSSIP OF OUR KING," Beleth bellowed_

Sakura felt her face turn red from embarrassment and anger after listening to her djinns.

"That wasn't necessary,"

Kouen's statement caused Sakura to divert her attention away from her metal vessels. She realised that he was referring to the circular breathing.

"Considering you were on the verge of drowning I believe it was and I actually have medical training under my hand so I would know." Sakura said crossing her arms

Kouen scoffed softly in annoyance "As assumptive as ever,"

Kicking the sand under her feet Sakura turned away from the prince "Whatever, I save your life and not even a thank you."

"You technically just repaid a debt since I saved you before hence there's no need for it."

Sakura felt like she was about to burst a blood vessel and began muttering something about 'infuriating men' with pompous attitudes. Right now she was ready to leave immediately, get back to Reim, find Sitri, beat up Sinbad and then resume her quest and never think back to her time in Gaap's dungeon.

Sakura began filling her voyage bag while she spoke "Suppose you're going to want some of the treasure too right?"

"It's the djinn that was the true goal not the treasure." Kouen told her

"Well," Sakura shrugged "I got the djinn so tough luck there prince."

Kouen made no remarks to that and simply watched the pinkette take the treasure from the large sacks and transfer them into the smaller one-a magical item he assumed. After she finished unloading two of them she gestured to the remaining three.

"Well here you go prince, you can take that as your reward for so graciously giving up the djinn to me." Sakura said with a mock bow "I'm sure you can carry it if you use your djinn equip to fly back home."

"There is no need."

"I wasn't asking whether or not you needed it, I asked if you wanted and you said no so I'm just giving it to you."

Kouen looked at her "A reward you say?"

Sakura nodded "Sure why not, you were surprisingly courteous enough to hold back with those sword skills of yours."

"And you did the same with those odd abilities of yours." Kouen reminded her

"And you saved me from drowning,"

"You did the same for me,"

"So there isn't anything you want from the dungeon?"

"I didn't say that-though not necessarily from the dungeon,"

Sakura huffed and kicked the sand beneath her feet before shivering, her clothes were soaked thanks to Gaap's dungeon adventure and the night's air did not help but there were more pressing matters for her to deal with other than risk of hypothermia.

'It's going to be pretty warm back in Reim,'

The problem now was how she would get to Reim, it was more than just a hop skip and jump away unlike her other journey's. She couldn't use the Looking glass to get to a destination that didn't have a djinn with a shard-least as far as she knew. She would need to travel the old fashioned way, by boat (because she was pretty sure even in djinn equip she wouldn't be able to travel thousands of miles for hours) that meant finding a harbour which would probably be somewhere near a city. The same principle went for the carriage.

"Hey prince," Sakura called "Do you know where's the nearest town from here?"

Kouen looked at her "Yes."

Sakura stared at him, waiting for the rest of the explanation of how and where she would find the place only to be met with stony silence and she figured that Kouen was not going to give her any further details unless she stated it in plain simple words.

"Well then could you tell me where to find it?"

"Yes," Kouen said again but fell silent shortly after causing Sakura's final thread of patience dissipate as she stormed up to him.

"Well? Are you going to tell me where that would be so I can be on my way or are you just going to stand there like a statue in complete silence?"

What Kouen said next really pushed her last button and broke it, he smirked down at her, his head leaning ever so slightly to her so that they were at eyelevel.

"You asked if I 'could' tell you where the town was and I said yes because I could but I won't,"

Sakura stared at him wide eyes "What!?"

"Remember what I said earlier? I've already obtained something very interesting from the dungeon-a certain dungeon capturer who I intend to make use of before allowing her to go anywhere."

"What!?" Sakura asked again, she heard him clearly but at the same time she didn't want to believe what she was hearing was true.

"You say you want to give me something as a reward, I'll take you as the reward. An interloper should have a lot to tell."

Sakura felt like she was about to smack the Kou prince so hard his head would snap so far back he could see from behind.

"No way in hell!" Sakura hissed before poking Kouen in his chest "Let's get one thing straight here, I am not one of your servants that will follow your every order just because you're highborn!"

Kouen crossed his arms over his chest "Well then, how do you intend to get this back?"

Reaching into his clothes Kouen pulled out the Looking glass that Sakura was certain she had around her neck before she left the dungeon! There was another shard in its place thanks to Gaap but it was in Kouen's hand now.

"How? When?" Sakura asked glaring at him

Kouen smirked "I believe there was only one opportunity I could've had."

Sakura wanted to bang her head against the hardest surface of stone she could find for her stupidity but since there were none around she settled for slapping her forehead so hard it turned red.

'Again-I got pickpocketed again!'

" _And under the same circumstances," added Stolas though Sakura could tell he was trying to mask a laugh._

" _My king, it really is quite embarrassing….for you to have your belongings stolen due to intimate actions not once but twice is really-_

" _WAIT-THIS IS THE SECOND TIME SHE LIP LOCKED SOMEONE AND GOT SOMETHING STOLEN?!" Gaap asked laughing hysterically blubbering his next sentences that no one could make them out._

Using all of her willpower not to kill her djinns and Kouen Sakura spoke "How did you know that was important to me and not some useless trinket?"

"Aside from listening to everything you and the djinn?" Kouen asked answering her question with his own.

Sakura went to grab it but Kouen took two steps back.

"I'm giving you one chance, give that back to me right now or I swear I will kick your ass so hard that stick you've got shoved up there is going to go a whole lot deeper rich boy!"

" _LANGUAGE MY KING," Beleth said wincing at the girl's crudeness._

" _I really like my new king," Gaap said "She's going to make a great travel companion."_

" _Assuming her mouth doesn't get her executed." Pointed Stolas_

Kouen suddenly began clenching the mirror "Make any more idle threats or even attempt them and I won't hesitate to destroy it before you reach me."

Sakura realised Kouen was not joking at least he didn't appear to be and she didn't know whether or not it was possible to destroy the mirror but she couldn't take that risk-not at all. She watched as Kouen transformed again into his djinn equip.

"Well," Kouen said looking out into the distance "Let's go."

Muttering under her breath Sakura went to grab the rest of the treasure before transforming herself into Beleth's djinn equip.

She was off….to the Kou Empire

A terrible stirring began within her stomach as she realised the delay this detour was going to cause.

'Sorry Sitri, it looks like you're going to have to wait a little longer-and you too Sinbad; you better be alright when I get there.'

 **WELL THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS BUT DON'T' WORRY NEXT CHAPTER'S ALREADY BAKING IN THE OVEN.**

 **In the mean time please review to pass the time.**


	18. The Kou Empire-Day 1

**Well I was going to only update at the end of the week but after seeing all of the reviews that came in so fast and once I finally got to read it on the second day after Fan fiction seemed to have a technical problem with its reviews viewing I've decided to update early.**

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It was official, Sakura loathed Kouen Ren to her very core; with every fibre of her body. Meeting the insufferable prince in the dungeon was an experience rising to the top of her list as one of the worst she has ever endured; not only was he the first person to discover her most sacred secret-one that even Sinbad wasn't aware of; about the mirror known as the Looking Glass and its purpose for returning her to the world she came from; he actually stole it from her after discovering her truth and used it to blackmail her, forcing her to return with him to his home in the Kou Empire. She was livid for this reason. He did not understand how much that mirror meant to her even if he was there when Gaap revealed the purpose behind it, he wouldn't understand, he wouldn't know the hope it gave her and the longing to return home and that's what angered her the most about this situation.

He stole her hope and was keeping it hostage, threatening to destroy it if she defied him.

" _Well I suppose that is one way to get a girl to go home with you," Gaap said_

'Great another djinn full of snarky comments too bad the other is all the way on the other side of the world or you two might have been able to stripe me of my last thread of sanity.' Sakura thought humourlessly tossing to her side on the plush feather bed.

" _I was only trying to lighten the mood!" Gaap defended_

"Well stop please, you're only blackening mine," Sakura stated turning on her stomach and punched the soft pillow behind her.

Sakura was taken to the Kou Empire's royal palace near the capital, the structure was dimly lit with lanterns so Sakura got the outline of but it was as large as you would expect a palace to be, she barely caught a glimpse of it, shades mostly of red and yellow but that might've been due to the lanterns but it wasn't like Kouen gave her much time to admire the scenery before he took her to one of the guest rooms while staying completely out of sight since they landed on a balcony but she wasn't complaining, the last thing she needed was questions she didn't' want to answer. After that his exacts words to her was. 'Do not leave this room, I will come at sunrise, be ready.'

After that he literally slammed the door shut and left.

"That jackass," Sakura muttered over and over again as if it were a mantra "Dealing with Sinbad was more than enough for me and now there's this stupid prince."

" _My king please, it is very late, you have just finished conquering a dungeon I think the next best move would be to rest and save your strength and threats for when the prince is actually here." Stolas suggested_

Sakura had to admit she was tired after that aquatic disaster called dungeon capturing not to mention soaked to the bone, she had to use Beleth's flames to dry her clothes.

'There is no way I'm getting any sleep in this place,' Sakura thought looking around, there was a canopy over her bed, unnecessary fabrics that hung on the walls and three too many carpets on the floors, dressers and closets that were expecting those over extravagant guests who brought far too much clothing for visits. After spending most of her time in the wildness and inns it was no wonder Sakura felt so misplaced in the room but this was a palace guest room so she had to take that into account although even her room in Artemyra-while large was in much better tastes in her opinion. It sent a message of wealth in a subtle yet sufficient way that no one could openly comment without undermining themselves.

'The Kou Empire…exactly what have I gotten myself into?' was Sakura's final thought before her eyes closed and she succumbed to a light sleep.

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"I told you I would be getting you at sunrise." Kouen peered at the pinkette with short hair sprawled on the pillow, her eyes had bags under them and when they opened he could see the hostility they held for him and then Sakura, having woken up twice in the night and took longer to fall asleep each time was not in the mood to deal with what she considered to be the 'second most infuriating male' that has ever entered her life thus in response she so graciously suggested he goes and finds a nice prickly cactus to go set his 'annoying royal behind on' and leave her the hell alone.

"I didn't think you literally meant at sunrise," Sakura said peering at the window before hiding under the covers again.

"That is what I said."

"Well I don't give a damn what you have to say prince." Sakura hissed

"You've got one hour to get ready and if you are not I will deliver that mirror to you in pieces." Kouen instructed before the door opened again and two maids appeared, one holding a tray and the other carrying material. Kouen walked passed then as they bowed their heads.

Sakura peered from under the covers and saw the two women.

'This cannot be good.'

* * *

An hour later Sakura had eaten the food the maid brought to her and then a bath was run for her, none of those posed a problem for her. The food was good and as far as she was concerned that bath she needed which she got after chasing the maids away insisting she could bath herself but what she didn't like was when the maids attempted to dress her in ridiculously over patterned robes that would've been far too much material for her liking and when she politely declined they insisted because she was 'Prince Kouen's honoured guest' which she had to correct to say she was not an honoured guest but more like a prisoner without the proper accommodations like a prison cell.

And after a futile battle the maids surrendered and left the room; a few minutes later Kouen appeared but the way he was dressed caught her attention.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked looking at him, all he had was a red shirt and black yoga pants with boots.

"Early morning training." Kouen said standing at the door

" _I suggest you go with this my king, at least until you find the mirror" Beleth told her_

Sakura walked out of the room and passed Kouen without a glance.

'Let the nightmare begin.'

* * *

Though Sakura knew the palace was huge, she couldn't help be in awe when seeing it in the daylight. There were many different buildings (Sakura guessed all had different purposes) that made up the palace, large areas surrounded by moats and walls. It actually gave Sakura the urge to explore but of course she knew that wasn't going to happen, not so long as Kouen was always peering over his shoulder to make sure she was only a few steps away from him. He took them to the training grounds set up in one of the many grassy areas.

"Yeah remind me again what we're doing here."

"As I said I have training in the morning and I have no intention leaving you to your own devices if I can help it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow "You think I would try to leave?"

"Most likely," Kouen replied to which Sakura rolled her eyes

"Well as much as I hate to admit it I can't go anywhere without that mirror."

"Then it's settled." Kouen then stopped "And in the future if you want to see that mirror intact you'd be mindful not to keep me waiting."

Sakura groaned, if she wasn't cursing her luck before she defiantly was now.

Kouen's training began with a ten kilometre run which wasn't challenging for Sakura, being a ninja she's had to travel distances far greater than that within a shorter span of time and still have energy to spare. The run began and ended with silence after that Kouen didn't waste any time to drag her to a new destination.

While he lead her through the palace she didn't miss the odd looks she got from the few people there but Kouen didn't appear to acknowledge them therefore she chose to do the same. He took her to the courtyard where they saw a middle aged man with white hair waiting, he bowed to Kouen in respect.

"My prince Kouen, may I ask who this young lady beside you is?" he asked with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes almost teasing.

Sakura frowned 'He does not seriously think that we-

"A new student for you," Kouen said drawing back any misunderstandings he looked to Sakura "This is Mahir, my swordsmen instructor."

"Former," Mahir corrected "Prince Kouen's mastered the art of the sword many years ago when he was nine, I usually train new recruits to the Kou Empire's force but I was surprised when Prince Kouen requested me to come this morning."

Sakura didn't say anything to Mahir and turned to Kouen with a blazing glare which obviously asked why he would get her a swords instructor in the first place when she did not ask.

Mahir seemed concerned though "My prince, do you really want me to teach this young girl?"

Sakura felt her level of irritation spike, of course it wasn't considered customary for women to take on the life of a soldier and therefore know any swordplay but she wasn't any ordinary girl.

"Yes, make sure she knows the stances and basics by the time I return."

"But my prince that is-

"It should be fairly easy for you, do not worry she is not without experience though very raw and brutish."

'That's it I hate him.' Sakura concluded before she ran after Kouen and stood in front of him blocking his path.

"What the hell is this? You drag me out just to go for a run then dump me on some-

Kouen cut her off "In the dungeon it was very clear to me you did not have any experience using a sword, you should take the opportunity to better your skills."

"I don't need to know how to swing a sword when my hands are all I need to bring down my opponent!" Sakura exclaimed "If you're just going to have me waste my time then I'd rather you let me leave."

"That decision is not for you to make," Kouen said his tone going dangerously low before he walked away from her "I still intend to make use of you yet,"

Now Sakura really felt like destroying something; like a mountain or a certain prince.

She looked back to Mahir.

"Now shall we begin?" he asked smiling to which he was met with Sakura's sigh.

" _Oh my poor king," Stolas said with sympathy_

Sakura was given a wooden practice sword Mahir began circling around her "Now the prince wants me to teach you how to use a sword, tell me have you ever used a sword?"

"Once." Sakura replied thinking back to the time in the dungeon, Kouen outmatched her completely but Sakura had her chakra to back her up and on top of that the way they were fighting both were holding back until Gaap finally caught on to their scheme.

"Alright, any experience with other weapons?" he asked

"Kunai," Sakura answered

"Those are ninja weapons." Mahir automatically observed surprising Sakura, she didn't think that this world knew of ninja's.

"Where exactly are you-

"Excuse me but the prince did say he wanted you to teach me the basics and stances before he got back, shouldn't we get started."

Brushing off her change in topic Mahir nodded "Yes of course now how you should stand…."

* * *

Precisely two hours later Kouen returned to find Mahir instructing the pinkette, watching her stances, her eyes focused as she charged to strike Mahir while he told her when and how to adjust herself and she seemed to take in the information easily enough but Kouen did not know that this wasn't the first time Sakura had to learn to use a weapon, it was just the first for the sword.

"Very good," Mahir said as he continued to evade Sakura's attacks.

Kouen came up and made his presences known, Mahir stopped and bowed slightly to him "My prince, it would seem my new student is quite the prodigy, she takes everything I give her an absorbs it almost as quickly as you did."

Kouen nodded "That will be all for today."

Mahir turned to Sakura and smiled "It was a pleasure meeting you my lady."

Sakura smiled and held up her hand "Oh I'm not a lady just call me Sakura."

With a polite bow Mahir left the two alone. Sakura's demeanour changed in an instant, though she didn't openly admit it sword training was quite enjoyable though she doubted she would ever have to use those skills.

"You managed to learn the basics I see,"

Sakura scoffed "Weren't you the one who ordered me to?"

Not responding to her question Kouen began walking away and though he didn't wait for her or look behind him Sakura knew he expected her to follow.

* * *

They began walking through the open halls, while walking Sakura heard the sound of metal clashing and soft grunts, as they turned the next corner, on the outside she saw two males with similar features-brothers without a doubt but not twins as one was clearly older, both had coarse dark blue hair and blue eyes. They were sparring with swords. Again Kouen didn't seem to take note keeping his eyes straight ahead. While the boys were fighting, one of them (she assumed was the eldest) seemed to have caught sight of Sakura because their eyes locked a second before Sakura looked in front of her again unaware that the eyes were lingering.

Kouen brought her to a secluded part of the palace gardens and then told her something that really surprised her.

"I want you to fight me,"

Sakura looked at him dumbfounded "You want me to what now?"

"I don't believe there's anything wrong with your hearing so I am not going to repeat myself. We're going to spar, no weapons or djinn equips for now."

Sakura watched as he dropped his djinn metal vessel on the ground.

Kouen began warming up while Sakura's feet seemed to have become glued to the floor "Why?"

A simple word could speak volumes.

"I said I was going to make use of you that includes your skills."

Basically what Sakura was understanding is that Kouen wanted to use her for her skills and abilities but that didn't clear everything up for her.

"Okay I am not fighting or moving until you explain to me exactly what your intentions are for keeping me here." To emphasise her promise Sakura folded her arms and planted herself on the ground sitting with her legs crossed. Kouen looked at her raising his eyebrow as if asking if she was honestly resulting to a silent treatment, a childish gimmick but when he was met with silence for a good five minutes it became apparent.

"Did I not explain enough in the dungeon and before we left?"

" _Not at all, but since I have recently discovered that there is such a thing as another world; I would rather keep her alive since you cannot question a corpse. On top of that she is also a dungeon capturer with skills and information that might benefit me."_

Kouen stood in front of her now, his form blocking her from the sun.

"Basically you want me to share my secrets with you, about my world?"

"More than that, I want your knowledge, your skills, abilities, everything you know about your world and this one."

Sakura couldn't help but glower at the prince, he was thirsty for knowledge; it couldn't have been more apparent to her.

"And after you get everything you want from me?"

"You can leave." Kouen said and though he didn't say it, she was sure it was a promise he wouldn't break however she was still sceptical.

"What if I don't want to tell you or show you anything?" Sakura tested

"Then you can expect to be here for a long time,"

In other words he wouldn't give her mirror back even if met with stubborn resistance. Sakura knew her hands were tied. Standing up Sakura shifted into a fighting stance, her feet apart, crouched slightly holding her arms up to protect her sides and her fists in front ready to strike.

"Whenever you're ready prince."

"First on their back admits defeat."

Kouen got into position and after a brief starring contest before they charged at one another. The first to attack, Kouen raise his leg to deliver a side kick which Sakura avoided by ducking and then went to attack Kouen while his back was turned but his reaction was quick as if he sensed her and blocked her punch with his arm; she decided to be generous and reframe from using chakra punches, wouldn't want to break any bones right? At least not yet. Besides after everything the prince put her through in those few short hours she has met him, she planned on taking her time getting her revenge and she wouldn't be able to do that if he became incapacitated.

Sakura went to punch Kouen again but he held out his arm to block her and she then blocked him with hers.

"Oh by the way, if you even think of holding back on me because I'm a girl or you think you're superior to me in anyway, I'll make sure you regret it."

"I never planned to hold back." Kouen replied bringing his other fist to get her but she moved back in time.

"Neither did I,"

 _Sakura and Sinbad were on the outskirts of Reim in the forest, after listening to the endless complaints from Sinbad and the begging to be let out of the office and do something fun Sakura had enough; she had grabbed him at the back of his robes and pulled him all the way into the forest to spar with her._

" _You know when I said I wanted to get out and have some fun this isn't what I had in mind," Sinbad muttered stretching his arms._

 _Sakura huffed and pulled up her gloves "Well usually I would ignore your please but I haven't exactly gotten much sleep lately either so I need to do something to get rid of this tension and I was told that sparring is one of the best ways to do that."_

 _Sinbad grumbled under his breath "I don't know how I feel about fighting a girl."_

 _Sakura shot him a glare that made his blood run cold "You know, if you don't learn to hold that sexist tongue of yours I will gladly remove it."_

 _Swallowing hard Sinbad held up his hands with a nervous laugh "Now, now I was only trying to be a gentlemen, it's against my policy to fight women."_

" _And yet you'd do it anyway if it got you what you wanted so save the speech for someone who will believe it."_

 _Sinbad sighed "Oh you're going to make someone one hell of a wife you know?"_

" _So I keep hearing," Sakura muttered back before getting into a fighting stance_

" _Wait let's make a deal." Sinbad started_

 _Sakura raised her eyebrow "A deal with you?"_

 _Her voice sounded like it was meant to insinuate insult at him._

" _If I get you on your back we take off the entire day and go do something that I deem is fun." Sinbad said_

" _Alright," Sakura began cautiously "But if I win then you have to sit your ass down in your office and finish all of your overdo work today."_

" _Deal."_

 _Sakura then got back into her fighting position but then noted Sinbad, he didn't seem to get in any stance Sinbad told her to come at him "Alright you can attack anytime,"_

" _That's your stance?" Sakura asked in disbelief looking at his arm behind his head and other on his hip._

" _Yeah, come on."_

 _Sakura frowned and him and Sinbad laughed "I'm serious just attack."_

 _She didn't bother to ask again, if he wanted to end up smack down kissing dirt who was she to deny him? However the second she aimed for the first attack she hit Sinbad in his chest and watched as his face contorted in pain. He was holding his chest tightly which didn't make sense since Sakura was certain she didn't use her chakra for this._

" _Oh no! Are you okay?" Sakura asked lowering her hands but she missed the smirk on Sinbad's face._

" _Gotcha." Sinbad had reached out for her, she assumed he was going for an attack from the front but then he grabbed her at the back of her neck, slipped his leg in between hers and before she knew it in a single flip she was lying flat on her back starring up at the clouds and then a wide grinning Sinbad.  
"Okay I win!" _

_Gasping Sakura sat up "Hey wait a minute you cheated!"_

 _Sinbad laughed "How could I have cheated, the only rule was get the other person on their backs there weren't any rules specifying how we should do it."_

 _Sakura turned red with anger and bit her bottom lip hard to avoid screaming out, she bit it so hard that it actually bled getting Sinbad's attention._

" _Hey don't do that!"_

 _He grasped her bottom lip and pulled it from between her teeth before wiping the blood away, smearing it on his thumb._

" _That was so cheating," Sakura stated_

 _Sinbad continued to stare at her injured lip "Maybe but I knew I could never beat you in a fair fight, not with your strength and skills to back you up."_

 _He did have a point there, she admitted but not openly._

" _But I wasn't going to use my strength I was playing fair!"_

" _There are going to be times when you are outnumbered and outmatched, to win means you can't always play fair." Sinbad explained "It's not breaking the rules, it's bending them to help tip the odds in your favour."_

 _Sakura wasn't sure how to argue with that without being here all day so, this time only she gave up._

" _Fine whatever you say."_

 _Sinbad beamed "Alright then, let's go get a drink!"_

" _HUH!?"_

That had been the first time Sakura and Sinbad sparred together but when she thought back to that time, she thought about Sinbad's words, about bending the rules. She supposed that would be what it took to win at times but that wasn't her way of doing things plus she didn't think Kouen was one to try and play dirty, at least he didn't seem like the type to her.

As they continued to fight, their punches and kicks became fierce, a fire burning through their eyes but also excitement as if they were enjoying it. Both were trying to outdo the other, it wasn't like in the dungeon where they were forced to fight each other, because of that there wasn't any time to feel anything for the battle. They were just doing it because they had to but now…they both seemed to be enjoying the challenge of sparring barehanded with no tricks, no powers just them. Even so they were both focused on defeating the other. They didn't want to be meeting each other's eyes from the ground and so they fought with everything they had although Kouen clearly had martial arts under his belt, Sakura's taijutsu was proving to be harder for the young prince to keep up with not to mention her stamina surpassed his own and Sakura made that analysis when she observed the beads of sweat starting to form on his face and as time passed magnified.

There were time Sakura spent with Tsunade relearning different forms and techniques of martial arts since she told Sakura it would help her defence and right now she was thanking her severe sensei for always pushing her beyond her limit.

When Sakura threw her next punch she saw Kouen stagger slightly when he stepped back and knew he was reaching his limit (though after nearly thirty minutes she had to say it was impressive he lasted this long); Sakura took the chance to feign an uppercut and instead drew her leg between his and with one swift motion Kouen had fallen on his back.

'Finally' Sakura thought in relief

She smirked at Kouen as he looked up at her "Well it looks like you're the first on your back admit defeat?"

Kouen looked down and appeared to grumble something under his breath; Sakura walked closer towards him and leaned down slightly.

"What was that?"

"Lesson one: even when your opponents down, your guard shouldn't be."

Kouen then went for a low sidekick to get Sakura to fall but the pinkette just jumped up tucking her knees before landing safely on the ground still standing.

"Lesson two: Admit defeat graciously or risk losing your head."

"Fight till the end even if futile."

"Better to run and live to fight another day than die an ungraceful death."

Kouen didn't reply as he remained on the ground, rolling her eyes Sakura held out her hand for him and all he did for a while then was stare at it like he was expecting something when he took it.

'Perhaps he's not as bad as I thought,' Sakura thought smiling and readying to pull Kouen up when she saw the grin on his face and he pulled her down causing her to land on her back while he stood up.

She blinked three times looking up at the blue sky in confusion before tilting her head slightly to glare at Kouen who had a victorious gleam in his eyes. Sakura flipped up right crossing her arms over her chest to glare at him.

'I stand corrected.'

It was times like these Sakura wondered how Naruto dealt with people like this, he was usually able to befriend them, even the worst of their worst enemies. She missed him, anytime she found herself in difficult situations she would always think about how Naruto would deal with it. He was far more than the loudmouth, annoying, obnoxious blonde she said he was, he was truly someone she had come to admire-she wished she could've told him that. She would never find anyone like Naruto in this world, not even Sinbad who she thought shared many similarities. There was only one Naruto, her only teammate and friend.

An uneasy feeling settled upon Sakura in that instant before Kouen diverted her attention from it.

"That's enough for today."

He then began walking off with that usual air of expectation for Sakura to follow him as if he had some invisible leash wrapped around her neck. Even with the distasteful thought she followed him only a few paces behind and then beside him.

Little did they both know about the eyes that followed them till they took the next corner, out of the gardens.

* * *

"I preferred being outside." Sakura muttered looking around the library, there were scrolls upon scrolls in shelves. There as a particular desk littered with them but set neatly, as Sakura looked at the parchments she realised that most of the scrolls writing was in the Torran language. Torran wasn't like the common language, Sakura had been instantly drawn to it the first time she saw a displayed scroll in one of the stores in Reim. It surprised her how quickly she was able to grasp the language as well. Some of the scrolls were being translated but the words were worn so it was difficult to see them. Her eyes began going over the scrolls, she squinted as they trailed along the words path. The words "Alma Torran" and "Solomon" were repeated quite a bit.

"You can read that?" Kouen asked

Sakura moved around the desk and away from the parchment "Somewhat,"

Kouen directed her to a carpeted area with many pillows, she got the message and went to sit down followed shortly after by Kouen who had a detached expression on his face.

"From what I've read in Sinbad's stories, you've travelled to the land of snow, Imuchakk."

Sakura nodded.

"Tell me about it."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

* * *

And everything she told, Sakura told him about the Imuchakk people, about their blue hair and large structures, she told him about their hierarchy system with their federation of five having gotten many lessons from Rurumu about her homeland and others. She told him about how Imuchakk was once pirates who use to raid neighbouring coasts. As she explained the history of the still mysterious country, she noticed that Kouen's demeanour had somehow changed, he looked more attentive as she spoke.

"So Imuchakk has a federation of leaders…"

Sakura tilted her head to the side "You don't sound like you agree with that system."

"It was necessary given their circumstance."

"But you would've preferred if there was only one leader." Sakura said with a knowing expression causing Kouen to frown.

She gave a smug smile in return "You're not the only one who paid attention in the dungeon."

"Speaking of dungeons,"

Sakura got the just of the message and looked at Kouen in disbelief "All of them?"

"Down to the last detail." Kouen instructed

'Oh this is going to take a while.'

Three hours later and Sakura felt like she was about to lose her voice, she had only gotten to her first and second dungeon because the stories lead to what happened after the dungeons, she stayed cleared from any sensitive and personal information that she knew she shouldn't' share. Her own in this world wasn't something she really considered sacred aside from the fact she was from another but that was off the table since Gaap handed her secret to Kouen on a silver platter. When she mentioned the Torran writing in Sitri's dungeon Kouen seemed to straighten himself further.

"You sure are interested in Torran language aren't you?"

Before Kouen could reply the library door swung open revealing a young boy, about fourteen with messy red hair and slanted pink eyes and acne scars on his nose and cheeks, he looked at the pair with a confused face. Sakura noticed the similarity between Kouen and the younger boy and knew they were brothers.

"What is it Koumei?"

Koumei as Kouen addressed didn't waver at his brother's tone "Nii-san I see you've lost track of time again and missed lunch, I figured you'd be in here."

He then turned his attention to Sakura and smiled before bowing slightly "Hello lady Haruno, I am Koumei Ren."

Sakura smiled back, she liked the boy's politeness "Hello prince Koumei it's a pleasure and please Sakura is just fine; I'm no lady."

Kouen appeared to grunt in agreement with her statement causing her to glare at him before diverting back to his brother.

"So you've heard of me?"

"Last night, I've heard that my brother brought you back from a dungeon?" Koumei asked

Sakura nodded "Blackmailed is more suited to describe what he did but I suppose that'll do."

Koumei then looked at Kouen again "Anyway as I said you missed lunch, so I told someone to bring it down to you, it should be here momentarily."

Sakura smiled "That was very kind of you."

"Merely looking out for my older brother lady Haruno."

"Again please prince, just Sakura."

Koumei nodded before turning and exiting the room.

Sakura lied down on the pillows, her hands propped behind her head "You're brother seems nice-definitely a lot more than you."

The door opened a few seconds later, a maid carrying lunch for the two.

"Hey wait a minute, did you only tell your brother about me?" Sakura asked before taking a bite out of a piece of sweet fruit.

"No, I informed the emperor, my father basically all the necessary people."

Sakura stopped eating and gave a confused expression "Wait I thought your father was the emperor"

"He is the emperor's younger brother,"

"Oooh." Sakura nodded in understanding, so that made Kouen a prince by paternal relations.

"Is prince Koumei your only brother?"

"No," Kouen replied "I have another one,"

"And sisters?"

"Seven."

Sakura nearly choked on her water when he said that number; that meant his father had ten children! There was no way he had more than one wife-assuming he had one…but she wasn't going to get into that conversation with Kouen of all people. She was still very sceptical of him.

"Does the first emperor have children then?" Sakura asked recalling the two finely dressed boys in the gardens this morning.

"Yes."

"Oh so-

"What was that healing ability of yours?" Kouen asked

'From personal to business so quick you'll get whiplash,' Sakura thought sarcastically

"Where I come from, I'm a medic." Sakura explained

"You're a physician?"

"Something like that but instead I don't spend all of my time just waiting around in a room for patients,"

"Explain,"

Now Sakura was thinking very carefully of a way to word this, she didn't want to go into details like before because….this was her world she was talking about and she wanted to protect it. Divulging information about her village isn't something that was taken lightly and even though this was another world she still lived by that principle but she doubted that Kouen could do much with general information and the quicker she did this the sooner she could leave.

"You know what ninja's are right?"

"Yes." Kouen said, there was a snippy end to his tone that sounded irritated by the question, as if he assumed she was patronising him.

"Well that's what I am-a medical ninja to be specific. In my world being a ninja is more of a career choice, there's even an academy that teaches children how to become ninja's and usually at the age of twelve if you pass the exams, you're promoted to first level ninja and begin going on missions. There are usually teams of four members, three being first level ninjas and the fourth is the leader and a more experienced ninja meant to guide and teach the other's and help them survive."

"What kind of missions exactly would need a medic?"

"Well there are different levelled missions just as there are different level ninjas." Sakura explained "So it goes from doing simple chores and odd jobs to body guarding and assassination. Basically, a mission is given, a fee is paid for it and a ninja is dispatched to complete that mission."

"What kind of abilities do ninja's have aside from regular combat skills?"

Sakura hesitated for a moment, her mind scanning through what she could and wouldn't say.

"There are the basics like kunai and shurikan training, then….combat skills like you said and also….there's learning how to master chakra."

Kouen visibly perked again "What is that?"

'I'm not too sure I want to talk about this,'

" _My king think of the mirror, we cannot leave until we get it and he will not let us until you've given him what he wants." Stolas pointed_

Without a second thought Sakura held out her hand "Chakra consists of two energies, spiritual and physical, we learn to combine and control these two flows of energy creating chakra which gives a ninja….certain abilities that surpasses an average human's."

"I see,"

There was a knock on the door and a man dressed in white robes with his face covered stood at the door bowing slightly "Prince Kouen your presence is requested by the emperor."

Kouen then stood up and began making his way out.

"Hey where are you going now?" Sakura asked

"We're done for today, I'll send someone to take you back to your room."

"Jackass." Sakura muttered though she was sure Kouen heard her but chose to ignore the insult. If he thought that she was just going to head back to her room because he was finished dealing with her today he had another thing coming!

Sakura stood up huffing before an idea came to her "I wonder if I can't just start looking for that mirror on my own while the prince is out of my hair."

" _Is that wise my king?" asked Beleth "You may only find more trouble for yourself."_

"Beleth, I'm being blackmailed by a prince, one of my djinns was stolen from me along with my first kiss and is in another part of the world. I think my bad luck has exceeded its limit by now. If I find out where that stupid prince is keeping my mirror I can leave."

" _I don't know my king, I feel something very unsettling in the air." Stolas warned_

" _I think that either way I'm going to be entertained so do as you will my king." Gaap told her_

Finalising her decision to search for the mirror Sakura took her leave, exiting the library and entering the large hallway which would be equivalent to a never ending maize for her-which it was.

* * *

Two hours later not only was Sakura hopelessly lost, to a point where she didn't even know where she came from or what side of the castle she was now on. She had hidden away when there was castle staff walking about, after all she didn't know if Kouen was already aware she wasn't in the library anymore. She was hoping to find his room since that would be the most logical place to start looking, but she doubted that was going to happen now. She had gone through the open hallways in the gardens and after decided to head to the roof to get a better look at everything. She walked along the thin straight cut wood of the slanted triangle roofs in futile hope to figure out where Kouen's room would be.

" _My king, perhaps this isn't the best approach."_

'No Beleth, the best approach would've been to wait for some poor soul at the princes beck and call to send me back to my room until he wants to see me again….argh I bet this is how concubines must feel. Call them up when you need them and then put the away until you get the urge to-

" _MY KING PLEASE!" Beleth bellowed in disgust_

 _Gaap laughed "You always were such a prude Beleth! That is an interesting comparison"_

Sakura chuckled softly and continued to travel along the roof, she was almost certain she wouldn't get anywhere with this but it was fun to think she would still be ticking off Kouen.

'Just hope he doesn't destroy the mirror-hey that reminds me can the mirror even be destroyed?'

" _I don't know my king" Beleth said_

" _I haven't got a clue either." Gaap added_

" _Nor I my king,"_

Sakura seemed to be thinking deeply on that idea, she didn't know much about the mirror and most of what she learned about it came from her djinn's and-

"Yunan…."

A sickly sweet voice that literally sounded too good to be real caused Sakura to lose her train of thought.

"My, a young girl shouldn't be playing on top of the roof it's dangerous."

Sakura gasped at the new presence and looked down.

Green clashed with blue.

 **That's it for now, but the next chapter's almost finish and on its way. I'm taking full advantage of this short break I have and I hope you will too to enjoy.**

 **Don't forget to review-it brings on the next chapter sooner.**


	19. The Kou Empire-Threats

**Hello my wonderful readers. It hasn't been that long since my last update but after seeing all those reviews I didn't want to leave you waiting. The week's almost over and I'm spending most of my free time to do what I enjoy the most-writing fan fiction for my amazing readers. This chapter isn't very long but I've already started on the next one so you'll be able to look forward to that. I must say I am really enjoying this short break from university.**

 **HOPE YOU ENJOY**

* * *

Sakura felt like she had lost complete control of her body, stopping in her tracks, unable to move a single inch or utter a word. A chill in the air ran straight though her she never noticed before as she continued to stare into the pale blue eyes of a beautiful women, dressed in equally beautiful robes, she had long dark blue hair tied in two braids and a noticeable mole at the bottom of her lip. She smiled at Sakura with what seemed like a kind and gentle expression yet the pinkette couldn't shake the disturbing feeling.

"It's very dangerous to stand on the roof, you could fall."

There was that voice again, so perfect, so unreal, as if nothing said with that voice could ever tone to disgruntled or husky when angered or threatening.

"Um….." Sakura began but stopped

" _My king what is wrong?" asked Beleth concerned_

" _SNAP OUT OF IT." Gaap screamed_

This caused Sakura to wince, forcing her out of her temporary petrified state, she blinked thrice and when she looked down again looking at the women, she felt different, that disturbing feeling-gone.

Jumping down in front of the women Sakura bowed her head "Um I'm sorry, I was just uh….I um-

Sakura heard a giggle and looked up "No it's quite alright, no need to apologise, it's not like you've done anything wrong."

Oh if only she knew.

"I was just….."

Yeah Sakura had no idea how she was going to play getting caught walking on the rooftops, she hadn't even sensed this women's presence until she made herself known.

"No need to explain either," she said waving her hand with a delightful smile "I must ask though are you lost by any chance?"

"Eh?" Sakura's sweat dropped "You can tell?"

The words left her mouth before she had time to process them.

"Oh yes, your eyes are swimming with confusion. Where is it you're supposed to be going?"

Sakura knew to keep herself in check when in the presence of high-ups it was a part of etiquette Rurumu had taught her, she told her that there are always different roles and scripts everyone must abide by when interacting in certain environments in order to flourish in them but Sakura's mind became clouded the more time she spent looking at this women. She rubbed the back of her head.

"I don't really know, I only came here last night."

Then the mysterious women gasped "Oh are you by any chance that girl Kouen brought?"

Sakura's eyes squinted in confusion, Kouen told her he only told his father and the emperor so who…

"Oh that face, now you truly look lost, allow me to explain; I am Gyokuen Ren wife to the emperor of Kou."

Sakura couldn't contain her surprised gasp and quickly bowed her head "I'm so sorry I-

The empress laughed and Sakura felt a hand gently pat her head "No need for that, it's too late anyhow. Now where are you heading little dove?"

Sakura wanted to know where that nickname came from but she chose not to and answer the question "I was actually looking for the prince."

Not true but she couldn't say she was looking for his room and she couldn't say her room because she didn't know where that was either!

"Which one? There are so many" Gyokuen asked in a joking tone "I'm afraid prince Kouen is still busy at this time of day but he should be done within an hour. Why don't you come with me for now?"

Sakura didn't even get the chance to process because Gyokuen had grasped her arm and began leading her through the gardens and while her grip wasn't anything that could really hold Sakura, she didn't pull away.

* * *

Eventually Sakura was lead to another area of the palace, where she saw two children a boy and a girl playing with a ball laughing happily. Gyokuen lead Sakura to the pavilion where a small table had been set with pillows. There was already tea and some kind of foods Sakura couldn't identify next to biscuits and fruit set down. She took a seat opposite Gyokuen and glanced at the two children who continued to play unaware of their presence.

"Those are my youngest children, Hakuryuu and Hakuei" she said

The girl Hakuei couldn't have been more than nine or ten but even so Sakura could see the resemblance from her mother and as for Hakuei who she assumed was no more than four or five, had that same dark blue hair like the two boys she saw this morning and blue eyes.

"Do you have four children then?" Sakura asked before covering her mouth

Gyokuen appeared surprised though deep down Sakura didn't believe she was.

"Yes that's right, I have two older boys, Hakuyuu and Hakuren." Gyokuen told her

"I…saw them in the gardens this morning when I was training," Sakura said

Gyokuen offered Sakura some tea which she politely accepted, after all another common act of curtsey-even if you don't want it accept it as a gesture of appreciation and acknowledgment otherwise you leave a bitter taste at the end of your meeting and Sakura was able to remember this now that her mind no longer seemed to be swimming.

"Yes, that is usually the time they train before doing anything else." Gyokuen laughed again, she the glanced back out "Why I do believe we've been noticed."

Sakura watched as the two children ran up their mother, their eyes shining and huge grins on their faces as they called out to her, pulling at the fabric of her robes slightly crinkling them. Their eyes then went over to Sakura, big and full of curiosity.

"Hakuryuu, Hakuei, this is Sakura Haruno-your cousin Kouen's special guest, come say hello."

They muttered a near inaudible 'hello' and 'nice to meet you', Sakura smiled in return "It's nice to meet you princess Hakuei, prince Hakuryuu, what were you playing earlier?"

Their eyes seemed to light up further after Sakura asked them that and Hakuyuu quickly answered "It was a new game I made up! You have to bounce the ball to the other person and then switch to the next black but the ball mustn't go out of the square or you lose."

"Well that explains the chalk lines on the garden floors," their mother said though she didn't sound upset, more like she was stating an observation.

"Do you want to play with us?" asked Hakuryuu which earned him a small look of disapproval from his sister since it sounded impolite.

Sakura gave a small laugh before turning to Gyokuen, asking if it was alright to leave to entertain her children, she just nodded and smiled.

"I'd be honoured."

* * *

Sakura spent the next half an hour playing a simple game with the two young royals, from time to time she would glance at Gyokuen and would always see her sitting there, smiling directly at them in a way that Sakura could only describe as a living statue. Once the children grew tired of the game, they had Sakura play other games with them to pass the time, they played tag and as the end of the day drew nearer, these two children Hakuei and Hakuryuu seemed to grow closer to the pinkette. Gyokuen finally stood up from her sitting position and walked over to the three putting an end to their play time saying that it was getting late and that they still had afternoon classes to attend.

Though clearly reluctant, the children didn't protest.

Hakuei and Hakuryuu bowed and said goodbye to Sakura before running up to her and hugging her waist then looking up at her.

"Will you please play with us again?" asked Hakuei

Sakura couldn't help but smile, she's always had a certain adoration for children, she didn't know if it was because of her longing to have had this kind of attention when she was a child as one who was always bullied, or if it was some kind of natural maternal instinct magnified from spending all that time in the children's ward at the hospital when she was still in training, she really didn't know.

"I'd be happy to"

'Assuming that prince gives me the time,' she mentally added but brushed off the thought, he obviously wasn't going to be able to spend every second of the day with her, she would find a way.

"It seems my children have taken a certain shine to you. I'd very much like to speak more with you as well," said Gyokuen smiling at the pinkette to which she blushed bashfully in response.

"Oh yes, I still need to help you find your way back," Gyokuen said as if forgetting the reason she brought the pinkette with her in the first place "I'll bring someone to escort you-

"That won't be necessary, aunt Gyokuen, I'll bring her to my brother myself."

Sakura gasped and turned around to see Koumei entering the gardens, he looked really tired judging by the dark lines underneath his eyes.

" _It's a little hard to believe the two are brothers," said Stolas_

'What are you talking about I can make out the resemblance,'

" _The features are similar yet not refined in the same manner and their behaviour along with the way they carry themselves is in complete contrast with one another."_

She couldn't really argue with her djinn on those points.

"Koumei it's rare to see you out and about, come to pick up the little dove?"

With a stiff nod Koumei looked at Sakura and gestured for her to follow him "If you'll please Haruno,"

Sakura felt an odd change in Koumei compared to that brief time they met but didn't protest and left after giving her last greetings to Gyokuen and her children.

When they were completely out of sight Koumei spoke in a serious tone "I wouldn't wander off like that again, nii-san's pretty upset."

Sakura rolled her eyes "With all due respect prince Koumei if your brother thinks I'm going to be at his beck and call simply because he brought me here, he is gravely mistaken. Don't worry about repeating the message to him because I'll gladly do it myself when I see him."

"I take it you don't like my brother?" Koumei asked, his face held indifference so Sakura didn't feel the need to hold back.

"I absolutely loath him with every fibre of my being and if I could do more to wound him with something other than insults I would." Sakura hissed lowly

Koumei started laughing, his shoulders wracked and Sakura actually took a couple steps back from him as if he had gone mad in that instant. "Forgive me it's just…..The first girl my brother brings home of his own free will and it's one who appears to be repulsed by him."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, wondering if she heard Koumei right, did he honestly just say first girl? Kouen was sixteen and a prince at that-maybe not heading to become emperor but still he was highborn and-though it pained Sakura to admit this-he was really good looking. She wanted to ask more questions but they would probably lead to something awkward and Sakura wasn't really willing to get to that point with someone who was not only younger than her but still practically a complete stranger.

"What were you expecting then?" Sakura asked curiously

"Honestly, one of those many stuck up noble girls-the expected."

Sakura laughed "Oh you meant those girls with expensive fancy dresses they will only wear once, who have so much makeup on their face they can't go out into the rain or they'll melt and who can't eat more than a tiny saucer plate of food? Yeah that's definitely not me, I've worn the same red dress when I was twelve, I can't bare the feeling of makeup on my face and though I use to have diet issues every now and then I've been known to have the ability to eat my own weight in sweets."

Koumei started chuckling again, he appeared a lot more lax than Kouen and that was the reason Sakura believed she felt so comfortable around the boy.

"Well now it would seem I've just embarrassed myself in front of a prince, care to share something about yourself to relieve this burden prince Koumei."

* * *

By the time Sakura and Koumei reached their destination, they had learned a lot about one another, sharing past events (nothing that would lead to a grim silence or awkward distance) but that drew them closer; they spoke of their love of books, the foods they enjoyed and what they preferred to leave on the side of their plate, the kind of music and instruments that caught their interest, the time of day they would rather be in bed than anywhere else and so on. It was nothing but basic small talk you would make with a stranger in hopes of having a friend at the end of the day. The walk was longer than expected but not nearly long enough because Sakura then found herself standing in front of a familiar door-granted most of the doors looked the same, but this one was definitely the door to the guest room she had been placed.

"Is he in there?" Sakura asked in a wary tone

Koumei nodded "Do not worry, Kouen's not known for being unnecessary violent in fact he'll be rather calm as he scolds you."

"Yeah I make no promise to return the favour." Sakura said before opening the door and glancing back at Koumei who waved before he turned to leave.

Kouen was standing the centre of the room, looking right at Sakura, his expression was so calm at a glance you wouldn't think he was mad but Sakura could tell in his eyes and there was a frown that began to form ever so slightly when he saw her walk in.

With a nonchalant smiled Sakura crossed her arms and stood a few paces in front of Kouen "So how was the rest of your day prince?"

"Do you think this is funny?"

Sakura looked at him, deciding to play coy "Whatever do you mean?"

Kouen did not appear amused in the slightest "You were supposed to wait in the library till I sent someone to escort you back to your room and instead I hear you've been parading around the palace on your own?"

Though he appeared to be externally passive, she could practically see the deadly aura radiating off of him and it was directed at her.

"Uh….wandering around about and I didn't really draw any attention-

"You were spotted on the roof." Kouen began making Sakura wince "Then apparently picked up by my aunt."

Sakura rubbed the back of her head, apparently the palace walls had eyes and ears.

"Yup, that's pretty much what happened."

Kouen then frowned at her "Do not do that again, from now on you will not wander around without-

"Excuse me?" Sakura cut him off holding up her hand "I am not one of your servants, I was brought here by force by you! If you think I am just going to take orders from you like some-

Kouen reached into his pocket and presented the Looking glass to her "It seems you've already forgotten our deal."

Sakura's face fell as Kouen took the mirror in his fist, lightly yet threatening. Sakura narrowed her eyes when she saw the smug smile on his face.

"Tell me, why is this mirror so important to you?"

Sakura didn't respond until Kouen's grip visibly tightened on it and she spoke without filtering anything.

"It's the only way for me to return to my home world, without it I'll be stuck here. Please stop!"

His grip loosened "Then say I destroyed this mirror, shattered it further; you wouldn't be able to return to your world. What would you do? Where would you go?"

The question seemed rhetorical yet Sakura was still thinking of the answers; where would she go? Back to Sinbad? The Sindria trading company where she had suddenly left? Abandoned everyone?

"Please, don't." Two simple words have never left such a bitter aftertaste on Sakura's tongue.

"I won't. As long as you listen and don't do that again. Do you understand?

Sakura bit her bottom lip to stop herself from screaming out at Kouen and attacking him with everything she had, whether or not she wouldn't be fast enough wouldn't matter if he crushed the mirror before she got to him. She didn't believe he would mind a few shards in his hand.

"Well?"

"Yes, I understand."

The moment Sakura surrendered she felt as if she had lost every shred of her dignity, but she did not think a quick outburst of anger would be worth losing something she was working so long and hard to complete, risking her life for years, running from everyone she had grown close to just so that she could see home.

Home.

While other's saw a broken mirror, she saw home, her family, her friends, her village, everything she was, her entire world in that single mirror. And now it was being held hostage because of her own carelessness. Her eyes cast downwards.

She assumed Kouen was satisfied with her answer because he walked past her and closed the door without a word.

* * *

That evening dinner was brought to Sakura's room, she ate, had a bath and then just lied on her bed trying to fall asleep until the late hours of the night. It was as if it truly dawned on her how much was at risk right now. She didn't have the luxury of being reckless now, not here.

" _My king?" Beleth tried coaxing her to talk_

Sakura had been silent the entire night, ignoring her djinn's attempt to make her speak, she just lied away with her arms folded over her stomach, staring blankly up at the canopy.

" _Please say something my king," Stolas said, his voice sounded pleading_

" _Yeah, will you stop being so depressed?" Gaap said "You are behaving like it's the end of the world."_

Finally Sakura spoke "It will be the end of mine if I'm not more careful from now on."

" _I'm sure the prince wouldn't really destroy the mirror, after all how would that benefit him if he couldn't use it to blackmail you?"_

Sakura rolled over and buried her face in the pillow "He'd get the satisfactory knowing he's literally shattered every ray of hope I hold onto, he knows now just how much that mirror means to me."

" _I do not believe he-_

"What we believe and what we see are two complete different things." Sakura muttered ignoring the burning in her throat and blurriness in her eyes. "I won't risk it, I won't risk _them_ "

Flashes of two young boys at twelve appeared in her mind, one with wild spikey yellow hair and a wide grin and another with dark hair edged with blue and a smirk that once made her heart skip a beat.

'Please wait for me guys, just a little while longer'

* * *

Sakura spent a week and a half in the Kou Empire-in the Imperial palace of all places and by now half the palace was aware of her presence but no one bothered her. She didn't interact with anyone like on the first day in fact she didn't see them since the first day, not Gyokuen, not her two youngest children Hakuei and Hakuryuu, she'd catch a glimpse of her two eldest sons though since they'd be training around the same time she and Kouen headed out for their morning training. There'd be a time when she'd feel eyes trailing on her till she turned the next corner with Kouen but didn't dwell on that too much. She had her sword lessons with Mahir and was still able to take in everything he taught her, she just didn't have that same spirit as before. It was as if she wasn't there anymore. She had also gotten into a routine, in the mornings after breakfast it was swords training, then she went with Kouen for sparring where she was now teaching him a few fighting techniques from her world that she was familiar with. Then they went to the library where Kouen would ask her questions about her travels, the people she met and about her world, Kouen also said that he would start helping him translate scrolls since she could understand Torran language.

"Most of these scrolls need to be deciphered before you can even translate them," Sakura told him looking through the scrolls.

"I don't expect it to be done overnight," Kouen said before he began deciphering one of the scrolls while Sakura worked on another.

 _Alma Torran…Ill Illah, the creator of Alma Torran…..several….species. Established…prosperous society….population increase...border...fighting…..war. Stronger species destroyed weaker species…humans._

 _Ill Illah…world from destruction…save humanity…500 surviving humans the power of magic and 72 divine staves to rule and unite the world._

 _Prevented wars…chaos continued….800 years._

 _Orthodox Church…..David…during these years of chaos in attempt to….the world._

 _Orthodox…noble intentions faded….enslave species with their own magical power….Gunuds powered by 72 divine staves…._

… _._

… _.._

… _.._

…

…

 _Dragon of origin…._

"It's no good," Sakura said moving back and rubbing her eyes to remove the blurry vision which had come from squinting at the words for so long.

"What is it?" Kouen asked

"I can't translate anything else and the scroll stops just here, the rest of the letters are so worn out I can't even make them out anymore."

Kouen narrowed his eyes at her and walked over to where she was sitting with the scroll "You've finished that scroll?"

"I couldn't actually make out everything, there are barely any words-

"We're done for today." Kouen said taking the scroll Sakura had been working on and everything she had translated, Kouen's eyes were fixated on the transcriptions and she could've sworn she heard him say 'to finish it so quickly'. He seemed surprised and it made her wonder how long it took to finish scrolls like this.

Kouen took the scrolls with him when he left, by now he had stopped telling Sakura to stay in the room since she already knew not to leave until he sent someone to take her back but by now she had memorised her way to her room.

So there she sat, in a dimly lit room waiting to be returned to her cage-all of a sudden Gyokuen's nickname little dove made more sense if she thought of herself as a prisoner and the palace was her cage.

Sakura stood up to put some of the other scrolls and books she used to help her translate some of the inscriptions and began placing them back on the shelf.

" _This is our chance now my king!" Gaap said_

Sakura didn't react "What are you talking about?"

She had hardly spoken to her djinns for the entire week.

" _I've come with an idea to get us out of here, when the servant the prince sends to take you back to your room arrives you can sneak up on him, hold my blade at his throat and order him to take you to the princes chambers. Surely the mirror will be there!"_

Sakura shook her head "I am not doing that."

" _My king, I usually wouldn't agree with Gaap's methods but given the circumstances and your condition, I think it would be best if we left this country as soon as possible." Beleth said_

" _I also agree with this," Stolas confirmed "We cannot stand to see you suffer like this,"_

Sakura chuckled softly, it was touching that her djinns cared so much for her wellbeing but Sakura wasn't entirely convinced Kouen was that careless, he wouldn't leave the mirror where anyone would be able to just stumble upon it.

"Don't worry, I've endured worse."

Then she heard the fluttering again-it had been a while since she heard them, those little birds…..it felt like they were calling her, drawing her somewhere. She followed the fluttering to the back of the library, a section that looked like it was hardly used and all the way to a specific corner shelf where she saw flashes of gold.

'What is that?'

They were focused on something, something in the shelves…a scroll. Sakura reached for the pile, clearly untouched due to all the dust. She took the scroll and the fluttering stopped.

"What in the-

"Miss Haruno?"

Sakura heard the voice of the man who usually brought her back to her room call, tucking the scrolling behind her, she gave a quick apology and followed out of the library, her thoughts continuously running back to the scroll she was yet to open.

* * *

That night when Sakura was certain no one would interrupt, she sat at the edge of her bed with a candle on the nightstand and unfolded the scroll.

"What the hell?"

It was Torran writing, not entirely unexpected but it was written in such a complex way Sakura could only conclude that it was currently in some kind of code so that even if someone knew how to read this, they wouldn't be able to before translating the entire scroll and then figuring out how to decipher the code.

Sakura grumbled "There's no way I'm deciphering this."

" _My king, you were lead to that scroll for a reason. I do not think that you should-_

"Hello, do you not see of this writing?" Sakura asked gesturing to the scroll "I'm pretty sure half of these letters and words aren't even part of the context, it'll take me forever to translate and decode this, I don't have the time!"

 _"Please my king, look at the scroll."_

Sakura began rolling it up again "I already have Beleth-

" _No look again, read the top."_

Sakura hesitated but unfolded the scroll, her eyes went to the top and saw a heading, it wasn't in Torren but it was small and faded slightly which would explain why Sakura didn't notice in the first place. Squinting her eye slightly she looked carefully at it and read.

The Interloper

Now Sakura's attention was caught, two words, that defined everything she was in this world. She had taken the bait and her curiosity was caught. Sakura spent half her night working on the scroll with full intent of learning what it said AND no intention of sharing this one with Kouen.

 **Well that's all for this chapter, it's short I know but don't worry the next chapter is coming up really soon and I have a lot of ideas for it which I've already begun writing so it should be done before the end of this week.**

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	20. Breaking barriers

**Alright, here's the next chapter everyone. I'm kind of binge writing right now because once I get back to university, it's the assignments, then exams and I won't be updating any stories till my next break. So I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

"That's good, Haruno." Mahir said watching as the pinkette managed to avoid another fatal blow with his practice sword. It had barely been two weeks since he began teaching her how to use a sword yet she grasped information quickly and figured out how to put it into practice with little time. Though he had discovered she preferred smaller weapons such as throwing stars, at one point he took her out to how him how well she worked with these kinds of weapons. He set out throwing knives for her and a target, she hit it every time taking little effort to aim. Now she was also learning how to master a sword, a common yet deadly weapon.

Sakura's eyes were narrowed in concentration, barely blinking because the last time she did that's she wounded up with a big bruise on her arm and another on the side of her torso.

'Today's the day,' she thought, determined to finally disarm her trainer.

She went in to strike, raising her sword above her head but Mahir predicted her movements and crouched down before doing a spin, throwing his sword under Sakura's feet causing her to fall on flat on her behind and drop her weapon, rendering her to loser of this match.

Mahir chuckled as he watched the pinkette on the ground "You've gotten better but you seem a bit tired today."

Sakura rubbed the back of her head "Well I haven't really gotten a good night sleep."

Pulling the girl to her feet Mahir casually stated "You haven't gotten a good night sleep for a while huh?"

Sakura looked up at him with a slight frown on her face. It wasn't false though, ever since her first day sleep has been difficult and light. She'd be awake in the morning before sunrise, she would be completely exhausted from the day but her eyes wouldn't close at night.

"You can tell?" was her simple response

"I can talk to the prince about pushing you training periods a little-

"No," she said almost too quickly, yet for her it didn't feel quick enough. "No, there's no need to do that please."

Sakura mentally cursed for adding please, now she was just making herself sound suspicious.

Mahir didn't say anything more about it.

Kouen and Sakura walked in silence side by side, to their training grounds. She knew they were only a few turns away when she heard the clashing metal and then saw two of the first emperor's and Gyokuen's sons sparring. Every time she passed, she'd feel those eyes on her but she would only turn her head for an instant and then turn back. There have been enough rumours littering the hallways about her suppose relationship with Kouen, she only caught a few whispers, whether she could help it or not people were going to talk but the one thing that she was grateful for in her isolation within the palace was that she did not have to interact with those who would want to confirm their suspicions about her.

'I cannot wait to leave this place,'

* * *

"And instead of side stepping, you push all your weight to spin you right around so you counter instead." Sakura explained manoeuvring her body to demonstrate, lifting her one leg into the air then planting it down to spin slowly.

Teaching Kouen martial arts was what she considered to be one of her least enjoyable activities for the day. She didn't enjoy it because all of these techniques and moves were unique because they were not from this world and yet here she was forced to divulge it to some power hungry prince.

"That seems simple enough." Kouen stated before attempting the move himself-and failing.

"You have to run towards your opponent and spin with the same momentum, you don't have time to stop and think about it."

Sakura had honestly struggled with this move herself, when she was still training she had worked with Hinata on these moves, they were meant to be used with her kekegenkai but Sakura believed it the reflexes and reaction needed would help improve her fighting abilities in general and it did. The two managed to come up with a new kind of fighting style together.

'And now I'm teaching it to this glorified, impudent-

"Again." Kouen said stepping back before charging at her. Sakura remained stationary, as Kouen came towards he, when came close he tried that spin again but every time it came to it, he just ended up stopping too soon, only managing to turn halfway or missing the counter that was supposed to come after.

A dozen times later and he still hadn't managed the 'simple' move which gave Sakura a bit satisfaction since every time Kouen mastered the moves she showed him, he would usually have this sense of superiority that irritated her or he'd comment on how he has always been able to pick up on simplistic marital arts skills.

Sakura had to hold back her laugh when Kouen actually fell over his own feet, she really wanted to make some kind of snide remark as payback but instead she crouched down and said "You put a little too much spin there and your balance….."

Kouen didn't respond and just stared at her with that same passive expression she had been seeing every day for nearly two weeks.

"Let's try that again."

Kouen got up from the ground while Sakura stood in front of him "The trick is to twist your upper body first and then lower, that way you maintain control and balance of your body and only use one foot to spin not both so you won't fall. Now again."

Backing up a few steps Sakura gestured for Kouen to attack which he did. When he was mere inches away from colliding his body with hers, he spun on his heel twisting his way beside Sakura and then raising his leg to attack, which she herself blocked by turning her own body around and using her arms to protect her side.

Though finished, the two held their position, Sakura smirked "Not bad."

"Hm," It sounded like a sound of satisfaction as Kouen withdrew and then Sakura.

"So what else is there?"

Sakura's face fell again as she remembered just who the boy in front of her was and what he had done to her.

"It's getting late don't you think?" Sakura asked in an attempt to leave

"I don't." Kouen confirmed

Sakura sighed, there was just no way to refuse him. She thought there was before but there wasn't, at least not for her.

"Alright, well this next move…..

* * *

The day went by as expected, Sakura spending most of her time answering Kouen's questions and then getting sent off to her room to wait in boredom for her dinner but at least now she had something to keep her busy, deciphering the scroll. She was certain that had it not been for that boredom eating away at her she wouldn't have had this curiosity to find out what it read. She had learned a lot from her djinns but even they did not have all the answers to her questions-most of which revolved around finding a way out of this world.

'Perhaps this scroll will give me the answer.'

" _I wouldn't have too much hope my king," Gaap warned_

"Look at where I am right now Gaap,"

" _A guest in a palace?"_

"I'm a prisoner in a well decorated holding cell." Sakura corrected "It doesn't matter where you are place, if you feel helpless and at the mercy of someone then you can consider yourself a prisoner."

…

…

…

…

…

…

 _Once, there were countless windows connecting all the countless worlds together. Different beings would enter through these windows to come to other worlds. These being were known as the Interlopers._

Three sentences, three short sentences. That was all Sakura managed to get through before she felt her eyes begging to droop and her djinns voice's begging her to get some rest since she would have to get up early the next morning. She didn't' argue though, she had spent a good few hours just to translate all of that, the words were clear but making them out piece by piece and then decoding because there were a lot of inscriptions placed that filled up the page she could only guess that the real context couldn't be more than a few short sentences, word by word was no easy task. She just hoped Kouen never found a scroll with this much complexity for her to translate. He seemed satisfied with her translating for now but most of the scrolls only gave bits and pieces of information because the rest were unreadable. She wandered about what Kouen would do with the information though, knowledge may be power but only when the right knowledge was used the 'right' way and she used that term very loosely because everyone's definition of 'right' was different, depending on who would benefit normally.

"Do you guys know about King Solomon and Alma Torren?"

" _We are not at liberty to tell you my king, I apologise." Beleth said straight away_

Sakura yawned in response "I see."

She wasn't going to press, after all this world was not hers, there were times when she would have to remind herself of that-more so when she was with Sinbad.

'Sinbad, what are you doing now?'

That was her last thought before she drifted in a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The rising son has never annoyed Sakura more than when she came to Kou, not when she first became a genin and not when she began training under Tsunade, it annoyed her because it was the start of a new day to her endless routine she was growing sick of quickly. She finished her swords training with Mahir, then went to practice martial arts with Kouen, then it was the usual trip to the library where they would stay for hours and talk about everything yet touch on nothing when it came to personal affairs. That though they spent so much time together, Sakura and Kouen couldn't further apart than strangers.

Although today was going to be different.

That morning Sakura wasn't taken to her usual training spot with Kouen, she didn't see the two princes sparring that morning because they never took the turn, instead he took her to the furthest end of the palace, near the outskirts.

"You want us to what now?" Sakura asked, disbelief clear on her face as she secretly hoped she had not heard Kouen correctly.

"We are going to spar using out djinns today."

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"You are insane."

That statement was more than enough to form a frown on Kouen's commonly expressionless face.

"Is there a problem?"

Sakura coughed before folding her arms as she often did when readying to have a heated argument "Um, well for one using a metal vessel is extremely dangerous in enclosed areas and in case you haven't noticed prince we aren't exactly in the best environment to use our djinns."

She gestured to the palace buildings only a few metres away. Even if they were at a great distance, a djinns power could reach over vast areas; they would still run the risk of endangering lives, a djinns power was not something to take lightly.

" _My king, why are you so hesitant to fight this man?" Beleth asked_

'Because I'm afraid if I get the chance to go all out, I'm going to snap and take out all my anger at once and forget about the safety of others.'

" _You hatred for the prince could not possibly run that deep that you would forget your own morals and principals." Reassured Stolas_

'Believe me Stolas, you haven't seen what I'm capable of when it comes to dealing with those I despise.'

Usually Sakura would go along with whatever Kouen wanted so that she could get it over with but this was just too much even for him.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

Sakura did not miss the threat in his tone should she give a dissatisfactory answer. Instead she chose not to answer and simply stare at him until he chose to break the silence himself.

"We will only use our weapons, no full body equips if that will calm your paranoia."

"It will not." Sakura replied bluntly

"It makes no difference to me." Kouen said drawing his hand into the air, a star appearing above and Sakura realised he was about to attack her "Because I always get what I want."

'Oh crap.' Sakura's sweat dropped as she watched a large chunk of earth rise a move Kouen's head, she could see the roots coming out of the soil as it held in the air.

' _M-My king…' Stolas began nervously 'Perhaps you should-_

" _DUCK" Gaap yelled_

Sakura threw her entire body to one side, skidding across the grass as she avoided the clump of earth watching it roll and smash into the wall. Now she knew why Kouen took them to such a remote area. He predicted that there would be damage but she wondered if he considered the level of damage they were capable of.

"ARE YOU CRAZY" Sakura yelled back at him

"Fight back," Sakura knew by that tone it was an order. Kouen flung another lump of soil her way but she stood her ground and jumped into the air before drawing back and delivering a powerful punch that reduced the earth to rubble.

" _My king please, just fight." Stolas begged_

'I am not going to-

She didn't have time to reply because Kouen hauled another attack her way.

"Would you cut it-

Sakura felt the earth beneath her shatter like glass forcing her to take to higher ground which was why she ran up the wall of the building and landed on the roof, though she was far from being on equal ground with Kouen.

'What was that?'

" _Gravity magic, best be careful." Gaap told her in such a casual tone Sakura was irked_

'You uncanny ability for stating the obvious is really starting to annoy me Gaap!'

The back and forth went on for a while, Kouen would use his power to aim clumps of earth at her and Sakura would destroy them with her chakra punches but it seemed that this dance was getting boring for both of them.

"Aren't you tired yet!?" Sakura yelled looking at the destroyed courtyard, she hoped the gardener was going to be paid overtime for this. There was barely a descent patch of grass aside from where Kouen was standing. The rest were littering the area, the smell of dirt was thick in the air.

"You still refuse to fight with your djinn?" Kouen asked

Sakura crossed her arms "How many times do I have to say it? I am not going to fight you!"

"Very well."

Sakura thought that meant Kouen had given up his stupid notion to battle her in her djinn equip but she was wrong-very wrong.

"Dwell in my body, Agares!"

Sakura stared at Kouen as he began transforming with only one thought in mind 'I'm screwed.'

Kouen emerged in the same djinn equip as before when Sakura had first seen him; she honestly thought he looked like a lion due to his hair and despite his childlike appearance physically when she looked at his face, she saw a kind of maturity you wouldn't see in most adults till they were out of their prime.

Kouen flew into the air, looking down at Sakura he held out his hand and the pointed star appeared. The ground shook, at first a slight tremble and then it felt like a full on earth quake and then a big shadow loomed over her.

Sakura's jaw dropped when she saw the colossal piece of earth that had lifted into the air and began shifting, morphing to form sharp jagged points.

'He is not seriously going to-

 _"My king I think by now we are fully aware that this prince does not joke!" Stolas exclaimed_

" _I AGREE, DO SOMETHING." Gaap yelled "I am not going to have my king obliterated before you even master me!"_

Sakura continued to stare wide eyed at Kouen "Don't tell me you're actually thinking of…..T-That thing will destroy the entire palace!"

"I told you before didn't I?" Kouen kept his hand raised above "AUG AL-HAZARD"

Just as he threw his hand down ready to attack-

"KHILAF NAR"

Kouen's attack literally burst into black flames and disintegrated before hitting the ground, leaving nothing behind.

Despite his attack failing Kouen had a big smirk on his face as her turned around to look at her enraged Sakura; in full djinn equip and glaring at him with all her might.

"In the end I was right…." Kouen trailed "I always get what I want."

Those were the last words to leave Kouen's mouth before he felt hard pressure against the side of his face that sent him flying through the air and skidding across the palace grounds until he crashed on the outside of the palace walls into the open area surrounding it.

Sakura held up her fist she used to send Kouen through the air, she felt a swell of….giddiness pass through her as she watched him pick himself up from the rubble.

"That was-

Quicker than an arrow, Sakura planted her foot in Kouen's stomach, she saw him cough blood as she made contact but she was far from finished. Reaching out with her talons Sakura grabbed Kouen by his hair and drew her knee up to his chin watching him rise into the air and then spun around before delivering another powerful kick that sent him flying further across the land.

To say that Kouen was surprised by Sakura's sudden outburst was an understatement, the girl was definitely strong. Before Sakura could attack him again, Kouen managed to lift slightly from the ground so that they were now both in the air before they started exchanging blows, punches and kicks, each one countering the other but Sakura had a lot more power behind her attacks.

And it was beginning to show.

Kouen winced as he used his arm to block another one of Sakura's kicks, he had observed the girls strength in the dungeon the first time they met but to see and actually experience and feel this power was a vast difference he hadn't predicted.

Sakura felt like she was experiencing an adrenaline rush that would never end, excitement coursed through her as she took in a kind of pleasure fighting and without a doubt beating Kouen. Her attacks weren't even weakening as time passed, if anything they were becoming more violent, more aggressive.

Kouen finally managed to put some distances between him and Sakura so that they were now having a standoff, facing one another, waiting for any kind of strain, hesitance, any sign of weakness that would give them a chance to strike.

"So you can fight."

"You knew I could, you've seen me." Sakura couldn't help the low hiss that accompanied her words but she felt as if Kouen had just implied that all her training and sparring sessions weren't considered fighting.

"Not like this, not with spirit. By far all you've done is fight with no passion or reason, with those blank stares you were little more than a doll." Kouen stated

Sakura frowned and gritted her teeth so hard they ached "And whose fault do you think that is!?"

Kouen didn't seem affected by her outburst "You're more like a child throwing a tantrum because of a toy she lost."

Sakura lost all reason to hold back.

Charging at Kouen, he readied himself for her attacking but she vanished at the last second and materialised just as quickly from behind him before hitting him hard with a ball of her black flames, she heard the sizzling when his skin made contact but she didn't stop. Hate, anger, hurt, all these emotions bottled together to fuel Sakura's assault and this had become so much more than mere sparring. Her attacks became less sharp but far more deadly, Kouen was barely able to avoid the flames Sakura sent in his direction. She created three dragon heads and sent them chasing after Kouen to surround him in all directions before there was an explosion marking impact.

When the smoke cleared she could see the attempt Kouen had made to defend himself by making an earth barrier but her flames were too strong and it had crumbled. Kouen looked like he was barely keeping consciousness now. Sakura flew towards him, grabbing him by the cloth on his shoulder and pulling him till their faces were mere inches from each other.

"Where is my mirror?" Sakura asked with a vicious hiss, she held her fist out in warning, blackened with flames.

Kouen started laughing, he laughed so loud that the vibrations reached Sakura's body "After seeing this display, do you honestly believe I will let that happen?"

Sakura stared at him, her eyes still burning with rage but her face softened "What?"

"I was using todays spar to determine whether or not you were still of use to me, had you remained as blank and dull as you were I would have sent you away but now that I've seen this display of power…." Kouen leaned closer "Chances are, I may never return that mirror."

Whether or not it was true, Sakura was set off in a very bad way. With a loud cry she raised her fist, the flames vanished along with her djinn equip but she used a strong chakra punch on Kouen that sent him shooting downwards followed by a loud crash.

Sakura landed near the crater, panting softly, she realised only now just how much energy she had put into that fight not caring for the end result and this was it. She stumbled a little over the cracked earth reaching Kouen, his djinn equip had vanished now and he appeared barely conscious.

He must have transformed before hitting the ground because his regular clothes were torn and a bit shredded, clearly from the impact. Something was shining brightly in the corner of Sakura's eye as she spotted something gold standing out in the prince's shirt. Reaching down Sakura plucked out the object and to her astonishment she realised, it was her mirror; The Looking Glass.

Tears gathered in the corner of Sakura's eyes, it was as if a heavy weight of worry and fear that stood on her shoulders evaporated.

She looked down at Kouen "So you've been keeping on you the hold time…."

Something didn't seem right, when she looked closer at Kouen she saw that his breathing had become really shallow, almost non-existent, his eyes began closing. In that instant her eyes became clouded with concern as she crouched down and began checking his vital signs-which did not show good signs. It finally began to dawn on her what she had done.

"Oh my god…."

Sakura could hear yelling and footsteps, heavy ones getting closer but she didn't turn and instead began healing Kouen placing both hands over his chest and Sakura realised that should she fail to heal him then this would be the first death she would ever be responsible for and that caused an uncomfortable feeling to settle in the pit of her stomach.

" _Listen to me very carefully Sakura, ninja's have to take on many different tasks and sometimes it includes taking lives but a medic's job-your job is to make sure that you save those lives, keep them from the grave a little while longer. We do not attempt to take lives. That is our doctrine."_

Sakura began crying, she didn't know what the reason was, perhaps for the prince she had brutally battered and burned or perhaps it was the fact that she had just tried to do something her mentor would frown deeply upon even though it was impossible for a ninja to keep their hands clean forever, she couldn't but cry.

"Come on wake up, wake up, wake up," she kept muttering while she continued to heal him, even in a frenzy, her chakra control was perfect and precise. Though her heart was thumping so hard she believed she could feel it against her ribs.

"Don't die, please, don't die…..KOUEN"

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When Kouen opened his eyes he was in a dimly lit room, when he looked further at all the different shades of red and extravagant furniture and décor he realised he was in his room. As he attempted to sit up, he found that his entire body was stiff, aching everywhere and then he finally felt the wrappings on his arms, legs, chest and head. Then he started to recall his recent turns of events until he finally pinned his thoughts on a certain pinkette who had lost her temper.

"Nhgh…"

He heard a light snoring coming somewhere on the floor and peered over his bed to see said pinkette curled up at the end of his bed, her knees tucked up to her chin, lying on a tarp with a blanket. Before he could even draw in questions his brother entered giving a soft chuckle.

"Finally awake."

Kouen gave his brother blank stare as Koumei walked to the other side of his bed and looked over at Sakura who was still sleeping.

"That was quite a show the two of you put on, the whole palace was watching. Some people were so scared they couldn't move even after the noise stopped." Koumei told him

"And after the battle."

Koumei knew his brother wasn't asking what happened to the speculators "Well, I rushed out along with Hakuyuu and Hakuren who I'm guessing were also curious about the outcome of the fight. When we found you two, you were passed out, beaten so badly if it wasn't for your hair and that scowl I might not have recognised you while she was leaning over you, hands glowing and healing your injuries."

Kouen's eyes automatically drew back to Sakura.

"We brought you back to the palace where she continued to heal you throughout the night and I know that because I remained with you the entire first night as well."

"The first night?"

"You were unconscious for three days." Koumei stated "Of course I had to leave to calm down father and everyone else who wanted to remove your little guests head from her shoulders. There's still a bit of a debate about that though."

"How was she allowed to sleep in my room?"

Koumei's expression seemed to lighten, as if he had an inside joke "Well, when the servants and guards told her she wasn't allowed to stay; she asked which one of them proposed to keep her out? You could only imagine their reaction…."

"Is that all?" Kouen was sure he knew the answer but he wanted to confirm just in case. You could never be too careful when dealing with matters like these.

"That's all." Koumei said as if ushering an unspoken promise.

"I have some people I would like to avoid right now, so if you'll excuse me nii-san." Koumei said with a slight bow before making his way towards the door. He stopped to look over his shoulder "Oh and do try and take it easy on the poor girl."

With that Koumei closed the door, satisfied.

* * *

As Sakura's eyes opened she almost forgot-as she did every time she woke up where she was but then she remembered the incident and was immediately awake. She craned her neck to the side feeling that typical pain she got every time she woke up since she had moved to the princes chambers and on the floor. She'd have to check on Kouen's bandages today and determine whether or not his condition was improving. So far he appeared to be getting better by the day but she was also cautious.

"Do you know you snore?"

Sakura's head snapped to the side where the bed was and saw Kouen sitting up, staring blankly at a scroll. In that instant, seeing him awake Sakura's entire form visibly relaxed and she let out a small breath before standing up slowly.

"You're awake."

"And you're stating the obvious."

Emerald eyes became glossy at hearing Kouen's unchanged, clipped tone directed at her, it gave her relief, because she knew that meant he would be alright.

Kouen gestured to the tray of untouched food on one of the night stands beside his bed. "It's still warm."

The pinkette didn't argue before taking the tray and sitting on the chair she had placed near the bed. She ate silently and soon finished everything on the plate, not realising how hungry she really was never really having a proper meal since she began treating Kouen. It was always like this for her whenever she worked, it was as if the entire idea of having someone's life in your hands supressed your appetite until you've successfully saved them and only after would hunger hit you. Sakura never wanted to imagine what might happen to her appetite if one day she was unable to save a life, it hasn't come to that-not yet.

"You've found your mirror." Kouen watched Sakura's reaction carefully as she put the tray back, her hands reached towards the frame hanging around her neck in such a way it was as if she believed even in his condition he could take it again. In a way he found it amusing that she would believe that.

Sakura didn't say anything, there wasn't anything she could say but she knew that there was more meaning behind Kouen's words. Yes, she had her mirror, yet she was still here.

"Are you feeling any pain?" she finally asked

"Not any that isn't expected,"

She began looking around for the medical supplies she had put on the nightstand where the tray now sat, Kouen grunted and then gestured with his head to the desk where everything had been placed. After gathering the bandages, taking her time to collect her thoughts and calm her nerves she turned around to face Kouen in the centre of the bed.

Every step she made was a cautious one until she finally reached the side of his bed, just standing, waiting. Putting the scroll beside him Kouen looked at Sakura, making the pinkette visibly shiver (times like this she would've preferred him unconscious), even in this state he was still intimidating if not more so.

"Are you going to change my bandages or just stand there drowning in your own thoughts?"

Sakura snapped out of her anxious state and glared at him "I see three days of unconsciousness didn't do much to fix that demanding attitude. Move to this side."

Manoeuvring to the end of the bed, legs hanging on the edge of the bed, Kouen sat still while Sakura carefully started unwrapping his bandages, as they came off he saw the light blood splatters but when he looked at his body where the wounds were supposed to still be fresh as the day he received them he found that new tissue was already formed and the wounds were all closed, he didn't get that stiff feeling of thread in his skin from stitches either. There were also no wounds in certain areas there were bandages but he knew those were for whatever he had broken during his fight and fall, like his ribs.

As Sakura placed her hands over his wounds, he felt as if there was a soothing flow of cold water being poured over his burning pain, all within in. Every aching muscle, every burning flesh wound, began to disperse as Sakura's hands ran above his body, never making contact.

Sakura withdrew her hands and then rewrapped Kouen in fresh bandages "It should be a few days before you're fully recovered."

"That seems highly implausible."

"Not if I keep healing you." Sakura wanted to smack her hand over her mouth when she saw a glimmer in Kouen's eyes. She had her mirror, there was nothing keeping her here but she still stayed. Of course she promised herself that if Kouen dared to even mention it she would be out of the Kou Empire quicker than the Looking glass could transport her.

"You've made yourself rather comfortable I see," Kouen's eyes travelled to the side of the room where her makeshift bed was. Sakura looked down, embarrassment washing over her. She wished he didn't choose to call her on that.

"My rooms in a different building."

Sakura hoped that would be enough information for Kouen to understand that she didn't want to have constantly be running up and down to check on him now that she finally knew where his room was and that the best option would be to stay in his room where she could monitor his recovery buts he didn't tell him this because she didn't want to sound as if she cared. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"There are other empty rooms in this building,"

Now Sakura felt like he was just doing this on purpose to annoy her and because she respond to him, they fell into complete silence again. After wrapping him, Sakura gathered the old bandages in her arms readying to use them as an excuse to leave the room before she was crushed by the tension.

"I-I'm just going to-

"Why?"

Sakura froze, her eyes turning away from the door and back at Kouen who was still sitting on the side of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees. He didn't look like the helpless prince she had beaten nearly to death but as his regular self who had blackmailed her only two weeks ago. She knew what he was asking her but she didn't want to answer.

"I should probably throw away these bandages and you should rest prince."

"Don't," Kouen's sharp tone made Sakura wince and close her eyes, she heard shuffling and then felt his presence looming over her. "Open your eyes."

She did and she saw his piercing gaze, now Sakura was never one to fall under anyone's intimidation other than her teacher's, but Kouen, there was something about him that made Sakura view him differently than everyone else she had met-and that included Sinbad. Sakura was almost convinced she was under some kind of influence from this world even though that was impossible. Personality wise, at first sight Sakura may have considered him to be similar to Sasuke in terms of their demeanour and they both carried themselves in similar manners but they were still worlds part-pun intended.

"Tell me why."

Sakura breathed softly, her eyes trailed to his chest where she had just wrapped the bandages "Because it's my job."

"That's a lie."

Sakura clenched her fists at her sides "It's the truth, as a medic it's against my doctrine to allow someone to die when I can save them, simple as that."

"Doesn't that doctrine only apply to your comrades and allies?" Kouen asked, though his tone of voice told her he already knew the answer "You wouldn't heal those you consider your enemies."

Now Sakura felt like she was being backed into a corner here, the barriers and distance that was always there between them was beginning to crumble and diminish and what was truly scary was that it was Kouen who was taking the initiative to do this.

"You helped me because you don't consider me your enemy."

"That's not-

"You act like you hate me but the fact is, you didn't want me to die."

Sakura scoffed "Oh how would you-

"I know because I heard you."

He took a step forward but Sakura did not step back, not wanting to yield to him. "I heard you call my name….Sakura."

It was like an unspoken rule between them that was set from the day they met, they have never truly acknowledged one another because they have never addressed each other by their names, first or last, there was no true formality or respect. Sakura always referred to him as prince and Kouen didn't refer to her at all because she would always know when he was talking to her but saying one another's names, it was as if that alone moved them to a new level of familiarity.

"I heard the concern in your voice."

"Yes," she whispered starring at her feet "I was….worried about you, I thought I had killed you and I didn't like it-that thought, it was as if after everything I never truly hated you. I didn't understand, after all in a way it was revenge but in the end….."

" _What I want is revenge." Sasuke said in a bitter tone_

"It wasn't worth it."

A tear slid down her cheek "And it never will be."

Kouen's hand reached out and Sakura stopped breathing when she felt his finger glide from the bottom of her face all the way up to her eye, following the trail of her tear. When she looked at Kouen she felt like he knew the real reason for that tear; that it wasn't meant for her or what she had done but for someone else.

"That isn't necessary."

She smiled then and wiped the corner of her eyes and then-she frowned.

"Hey you shouldn't be walking about yet you're still injured! Get back into bed now!"

Surprisingly enough, Kouen didn't argue with her.

 **Thats all for now next chapter should be up soon hopefully!**


	21. Unexpected meetings

**Hello everyone, firstly I wanted to thank you for all the reviews I never imagined one of my stories would be so popular and I also want thank you for complimenting my writing style (though I'm still getting used to it myself). I do hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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Sakura stepped back and twisted her waist to move her upper body out of the swords way, before she stepped forward, holding her own sword out, she attacked with fierceness, no longer hesitating because of the experience she lacked. Mahir stumbled back when Sakura went in to strike, taking the chance she swung and watched as the wooden sword was sent flying out of her teacher's hand for the first time, watching as it landed on the ground with a 'thud'.

Mahir laughed, clapping his hands "Well done Haruno."

Sakura smiled, pride filling her "So I'm getting better?"

"I'll say, you seem much more spirited since you've returned from your break."

By break, Sakura knew he was referring to the time she took off to tend to Kouen, which wasn't much of a break in her opinion but that didn't matter anymore. Sakura still told Kouen he shouldn't over exert himself which meant no training until his injuries were all healed, she knew he wanted to protest to that but he didn't.

"By the way, how is prince Kouen?" Mahir asked fetching his sword. "Is he better?"

Rolling her shoulders, Sakura shrugged in a careless manner "Well, he's alive,"

She did not want to explain in detail to Mahir just how serious his injuries were, it didn't make her feel any better about it. The sensation was an odd one, Sakura thought that her anger for Kouen would run so deep, like the ocean it would never but it didn't, instead after the battle it was as if that anger had run out, that unlimited amount was actually very limited. Every time she thought about what she had nearly done, she thought back to Sasuke and what he must be doing and that made her heart ache.

'Revenge is nothing but a plant from the seed of hate, it bears fruit once and then it withers and dies.'

* * *

While Kouen was out of commission Sakura thought to take the opportunity to finally learn how to use Gaap's djinn equip, not full body yet but at least the weapon. She managed to find a secluded in the far end of the palace, far away from the construction being done on the buildings and walls Sakura and Kouen damaged during their fight.

"Another long weapon…." Sakura trailed starring at the new form of spear in her hand, it was beautiful, a combination of sea blue and purple, the blade came in an unusual pattering, beginning as a diamond and following with two razor sharp ends on either side that reminded her a bit of the pattern of a fishes fin only shaper with ribbons at the end of the last points and further down was another sharp end.

'Not one of my djinns could've come with shuriken as a weapon?' Sakura thought

" _It is not how well you wield the weapon my king, but its power." Beleth told her_

'You can say that but when push comes to shove I will need to know how to actually use these weapons, so far Gaap, Sitri and Stolas all have close combat weapons which isn't my specialty, I was kind of hoping for a sword. Least I have some training behind me for that.'

" _We cannot change our weapons form my king," Stolas said_

'Suppose I can manage, I have so far.'

Her eyes trailed to the pond in the garden, she held up her spear with both hands "Oh spirit of inclination and consonance, I call on you, Gaap."

The water from the pond began to slowly gather, coming into the air in streams before gathering it slowly, Sakura felt her concentration dwindling, it was always difficult the first time with a new djinn, just as there were ways to interact with different people based on different factors, there were different dynamics when it came to mastering different djinn's powers.

"Almost got it," Sakura said

She was attempting to gather the water and then disperse it into an attack, for that she needed to be able to manipulate the water into bending into what she wanted it to and then send it towards its target, with the right speed and precision-right now she was struggling just to form anything with the water.

After managing to gather a decent amount of water Sakura made the command to make the water move through the air, she slowly began moving her spear but there was still a lot of resistance in her movements. It definitely wasn't easy learning to master new djinn. She jerked a few times and nearly dropped the water.

" _Calm down my king, you're acting like you're trying to bend fire-no offense Beleth."_

" _I'll let it slide."_

"Well what am I supposed to do?"

" _For one relax, water is not an element that requires force. It won't hurt you if you feel it."_

In an attempt to heed her djinn's advice Sakura took a deep breath, her shoulders slackened slightly, keeping her eyes closed she began raising her spear and somehow she knew the water was following, she began to pull the water, directing it with her djinns weapon.

'I think I've got it.'

" _Well a basic grasp," Gaap said "There is still a long way to go."_

'Oh really?'

Bringing her spear to point to the sky Sakura directed the water to move above, movements still a bit slow but then she swung it down towards a rock in the garden and watched as the water moved at high speed through the air and against the rock slicing it halfway.

Sakura sighed "I meant for it to cut all the way through."

" _Like I said, you still have a long way to go but you seem to pick things up quick enough."_

" _That's because our king has excellent magoi control."_

Sakura smiled though there was a bitterness in her thoughts 'It is my only natural talent.'

She was about to continue practising when she heard the fluttering of the rukh and followed the sound to one of the buildings near where she was training and caught sight of a tiny head peering from a window in one of the buildings before ducking away and saw swore she just saw….pink?

Walking across the garden Sakura came towards the building, it was so quiet she had assumed it was unoccupied but seems she was wrong. As Sakura reached the door she knocked twice but there was no answer.

"Is anyone in there?"

She heard shuffling and then a loud crash like furniture falling and then sniffling so she opened the door and walked in. The building was dark, most of the windows were shut aside from the one Sakura had seen the girls head appear, on the floor she could see a bunch of dolls and fabric lying around but there wasn't really anything else aside from some furniture-compared to all the other rooms she had seen in the palace it was very under decorated.

Following the sniffling Sakura saw a tiny figure-a girl sprawled flat faced on the wooden floors crying. After returning Gaap's weapon to its initial form Sakura slowly approached.

"Um, are you okay?"

The girl froze making Sakura stop "Hey did you fall?"

Instead of answering all the little girl did was jump up and sprint under a table, tucking her knees to her chest and hiding her face. The way she reacted reminded Sakura of the way a feral cat. Crouching down Sakura crawled towards her and gently reached out, placing her hands on the girls shoulder Sakura felt her stiffen and knew she was getting ready to react.

"Are you alright? It sounded like you fell really hard are you hurt?"

The girl was silent for little while, before Sakura heard her mutter "My knee,"

She was a long, slightly crinkled dress.

"Well will you come out so I can take a look at it?"

The girl shook her head and curled into a tighter ball but Sakura didn't give up.

"Come on, I can make you feel better, you don't like being hurt right?"

She shook her head.

"Well I can make the pain go away, if you let me see it."

After about five minutes the girl started moving again, untucking hers arms and stretching her legs she began to come out of her dark corner under the table, while she moved towards Sakura the pinkette moved a little to the back to give her some space.

' _It's like you're dealing with an injured animal my king," Stolas said_

'Well actually this is usually how injured children behave, I had a lot of experience dealing with them.' Sakura told him

With a soft smile Sakura spoke in an equally soft tone "What's your name?"

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"K-Kougyoku Ren…."

Looking at her features, Sakura saw that the girl had long-slightly dishevelled pink hair, many shades darker than her own and pink eyes. What caught Sakura's attention though was her last name; that meant she must've been one of the seven sister's that Kouen had mentioned. What she was doing all the way in this part of the palace was another question.

'Is this her estate?' Sakura wondered, glancing around the eerie room before looking back at Kougyoku. 'She can't be older than six.'

"So…..princess Kougyoku will you let me roll up your robe to see your where you've been hurt?"

Hesitantly Kougyoku nodded while Sakura continued to smile, she slowly reached forward and rolled up her dress to see her knee; one of them was slightly red and without a doubt would bruise.

"Alright now hold still, this might tickle a little." Sakura said before holding her free hand that wasn't holding onto the girl's leg in case she tried to kick free over her knee, chakra flowed through and began healing her injury.

When Sakura pulled away she saw Kougyoku's eyes shining with wonder, probably trying to figure out what kind of 'magic' Sakura had used.

"You were very brave, princess" Sakura praised resting her hand on the girls head, giving her a gentle pet. "You should be very proud."

Kougyoku was staring at her previously injured knee in awe and wonder "Wow…."

Sakura giggled "So princess Kougyoku, do you live here?"

She nodded, looking down with sad eyes. "Are you here by yourself?" Sakura asked

Again the little princess nodded.

Sakura frowned wonder why her parents would just cast their child off in such a remote part of the palace. No wonder she seemed so frail and frightful, she must not have been used to interacting with anyone other than the servants.

"Always…..here" Kougyo trailed "Always by myself."

She began crying and Sakura felt a pang of pain go through her, she had to learn the hard way how painful and lonely solitude was and what it did to a person; both of her teammates had endured it and she was too ignorant to do anything then.

'But not now.' Sakura thought with a determined gleam in her eye as she vowed to take away this princesses loneliness.

"Princess Kougyoku?"

The girl visibly jumped and looked at the lighter headed pinkette.

Smiling Sakura held up a small doll "Would you like to play a game with me?"

Few words had never meant so much; Kougyoku's face lit up, going from disbelief to pure happiness. Reaching for the doll Sakura held out to her she breathed a tiny 'yes'.

Sakura hadn't played with dolls since she was a little girl, she had forgotten about the unwritten rules, how you had to change your voice and become the doll itself, move it around as if it real. It was a silliness that also gave a sense of happiness, putting up a barrier between reality and fantasy. Kougyoku had clearly mastered that skill for she kept in character with her dolls the entire time, switching roles easily. Sakura guessed the young princess had to use her imagination to fill in that lonely void. Sakura-not being able to keep in character with the dolls suggested after a while that they play something else. After a few hours Sakura realised she had spent the entire day with Kougyoku, unfortunately the one to end their fun was a Kougyoku's nurse and caretaker who tried to chase Sakura off but Kougyoku did not want her to leave.

"Please stay!" Kougyoku cried holding onto Sakura's waist

"Princess Kougyoku, this women is your brother prince Kouen's guest, her time and obligations lie with him."

Sakura actually held herself back from smacking the women, she didn't like the implications of what she had just told the princess.

Sakura bent down slightly and picked her up "Don't worry, I'll come and visit you tomorrow again."

"Promise?" Kougyoku sniffled slightly

Sakura nodded "Promise."

* * *

"You know when I said I was going to heal you, I didn't think I also signed up to be your entertainment" Sakura complained as she moved one of her chess pieces on the board, she was sitting in a chair on the side of Kouen's bed with a small table in front and a chests board on it.

"Well you were the one who insisted I stay off my feet," Kouen moved his chess piece, taking Sakura's.

Sakura frowned, trying to decide what move to make next "Because I know where and how many bones I broke and shattered in your body" she moved her piece and took one of Kouen's pawns "You're only slowing down your recovery and making more work for me."

It turned out Kouen did not take well to being confined to bed. In fact according to Koumei-who called Sakura to check up on him when she was heading back from Kougyoku, Kouen was going about his daily routine as per usual which included training when Sakura said he was supposed to be staying away from that.

"You remind me of a friend, he didn't lying in bed injured either." Sakura said smiling when she thought about Naruto.

"Then perhaps you should find a way to speed up my recovery," Kouen suggested, though Sakura knew what he was trying to pull.

"If that was possible, you'd be on your feet and I'd been at the nearest harbour." Sakura muttered before moving her knight to take his. "Don't worry, you'll be fine in a few days-if you take it easy."

"Then don't allow me to bore."

Kouen smirked, in that one moment Sakura made a move that left her king wide open and Kouen took that chance to strike.

"Checkmate."

* * *

 _Once, there were countless windows connecting all the countless worlds together. Different beings would enter through these windows to come to other worlds. These being were known as the Interlopers._

 _Interlopers are those who enter this world from another through their own means and are not influenced by any will other than their own. It is impossible to make them abide by the way of the world and the flow of the rukh. They are the unattached, the unknown, the rare and-_

"Okay that's enough for tonight," Sakura yawned rolling up the scroll, she was finally able to touch on it again but from what she could tell it was giving some kind of history lesson and Sakura already knew most of what she read, getting the information from her djinns.

" _To truly know something, we should first learn origins my king." Stolas said_

"At the pace I'm going I'm not even going to get through the origins."

" _No one said acquiring knowledge was easy."_

" _Yeah, no one said it was going to be boring either." Gaap said_

" _As boring as your dry jokes." Stolas commented_

" _Why you-_

" _Don't the two of you start!"_ Beleth warned

Sakura gave a small chuckle, throwing herself on her bed "Ah with you guys around it's never quiet, but I do have a full day tomorrow so silence would be appreciated."

" _Ah yes, another full day of taking care of the royal children of Kou." Gaap said_

Sakura frowned "What does that mean?"

" _Gaap," Beleth warned_

" _It means my king, you are becoming a full time caretaker without pay. First it was the prince, then his brother, then his cousins and now his sister as well. It's like everyone you meet become attached to you."_

Thinking about it, Sakura could see why her djinn might think that, she spent a lot of time with them, it took up most of her day, when Kouen was unconscious she got quite a few visits from Koumei and the two would often talk, Hakuryuu and Hakuei she hasn't seen for a while though and she only met Kougyoku today but even so she promised to see her again.

" _I must say, people do seem to take an unusual shine to you my king," Stolas said_

Shifting on her back Sakura placed her hands over her stomach and sighed "That's not true."

" _Actually my king looking back, you do seem to have a certain impact on everyone you meet." Beleth concurred_

"Or maybe they can just tell that I'm not like them," Sakura yawned again closing her eyes "That I'm an outsider…something unusual."

* * *

A few minutes passed and she was just about to sift off to sleep when the sound of shuffling, a small shadow and the glint of silver shining in the moonlight had her had shooting upright and jumping off the bed right before the ripping of fabric was heard.

"What the heck?" Sakura rubbed her eyes a few times and looked again,

"Kill…."

At first Sakura thought her mind was playing tricks on her or she was having a dream, a dream about a tiny pink haired boy with a knife that just tried to kill her in her sleep.

"I must be dreaming." She started hitting both sides of her face trying to wake up but knew she already was when she felt the pain of her cheeks turning red.

"Oh this isn't a dream."

The little silhouette looked at her and Sakura saw a very malicious grin on the child's face, holding the knife out in front of him pointing at Sakura, he launched himself off the bed aiming directly for the pinkette's head.

"KILL"

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Kouen was far from amused when he heard the constant knocking on his bedroom door that woke him up. The last time something like this had happened was when one of the new maids wanted to engage in 'intimate relations' with him, which he did not approve, then another time was when Koumei came in because he was afraid he was becoming insomniac, meanwhile this was due to him sleeping so much in the day he distorted his usual rest pattern, so Kouen took to locking his door at night and no one had bothered him since-until now.

At first he chose to ignore it, but after a full two minutes of nonstop knocking-never resorting to banging which indicates whoever was there was mindful not to wake up the rest of the palace even though his chambers was more isolated, he went and opened the door. Kouen did not know what to expect, but seeing Sakura clad in a sports bra, her shorts and holding a small struggling boy he recognised as his younger brother was far from what he expected.

Kouen was sure to lock the door once they were both inside.

"I'm assuming you had trouble sleeping," was Kouen's first remark.

Sakura did not seem amused either, still holding the child who hadn't stopped trying to wriggle out of her grasp since she grabbed him. "Well let's see, a small child attempted to assassinate me while I was asleep in bed, with a butcher knife-yes I had trouble sleeping!"

There was a slight curving of Kouen's lips that irked Sakura, he clearly didn't mind that she woke him up anymore.

"Do you think this is funny?"

Kouen looked at his brother "A multiple djinn wielder was nearly defeated by a six year old, I find the thought somewhat amusing."

"Well I don't!" Sakura snapped looking down at the small boy "He's vicious for a child."

Sighing Kouen gestured for Sakura to remove the boy's gag around his mouth that she had tied there because when she put her hand over his mouth he bit her open. When the cloth fell the boy started speaking in a hushed tone.

"Gonna kill…"

Sakura shivered, she could feel the bloodlust coming from this child and it was disturbing. "Okay, please explain why a child tried to butcher me in my sleep."

"This is my younger brother Kouha,"

Sakura's expression was deadpan when Kouen didn't continue with his explanation "Yeah; that helps now why was he trying to kill me?"

"Let's ask him." Kouen said looking down at Kouha "Kouha?"

The small child growled softly "I heard En-nii was nearly killed by this stupid pink haired bitch."

Sakura's jaw slackened "WHO TEACHES A CHILD TO SPEAK LIKE THAT?"

Kouen frowned "Unless you want the palace to know you are in here in the middle of the night lower you voice." He then looked down at Kouha "Kouha, this is Sakura Haruno, I brought her to the palace. You will not try to kill her again."

Through pink glossy eyes Kouha stared at his brother "She hurt En-nii and I wasn't really going to kill her, I just wanted to teach her a lesson and cut her up."

"Oh I see,"

Sakura slapped her forehead with her freehand "Really, that's it? This child is sadistic. In my experience they require professional help."

Kouen's shoulders raised slightly, he walked over to Sakura and took Kouha from her, holding him out despite his injuries (which Sakura made a mental note to scold him on later). When she looked at Kouha she saw he was pouting.

"You were the one who hurt my brother you stupid hag, you should be the one who gets help."

At this point Sakura had to bite her tongue from scolding the child.

"Kouha, listen to me."

Kouen didn't say another word until the boy looked directly at him, when he did he continued "Remember when I told you I've captured a dungeon?"

"Yes, I remember En-nii, you've got this amazing power you're going to use to strengthen the Kou empire."

Kouen nodded "Exactly, but until now I haven't had anyone to test my power against since Sakura."

Kouha looked back at the other pinkette, the hostility in his eyes still burned but his expression was softened and Sakura couldn't help thinking he looked very feminine for a boy, she didn't think he'd be handsome when he grew up but beautiful instead.

"So she wasn't going to kill you?" Kouha asked, it was clear by his tone of voice that the answer was going to determine Kouha's final impression of Sakura, which made her a little nervous because the answer to that question was unclear to her as well. Kouen provoked her to such anger she threw caution to the wind and fought with no restraint but what Kouen thought of the entire situation was another mystery.

"No." Kouen confirmed "She was making me stronger."

Sakura didn't know why but when Kouen looked at her she instantly averted her eyes, those words made Sakura feel this odd sensation, she became aware of her heart beat thumping loudly.

Kouha then smiled "Oh okay, so En-nii wanted to get hurt."

Sakura's sweat dropped, all other feelings replaced with disbelief. She had met a lot of different and colourful characters in this world but non like him, at first he might have reminded her a bit of Ja'far concerning his bloodlust but there was a vast river of difference distinguishing each boy that couldn't be bridged by that single similarity.

Kouha began rubbing his eyes and Kouen asked him "How long have you been waiting to attack her?"

"Since this afternoon," Kouha replied "When I final found her room I waited under the bed until she went to sleep, by the way En-nii she talks to herself."

Heat spread across Sakura's cheeks as she wondered why she didn't notice the small boy in there before, usually she could sense the presence if she focused or when it was quiet-then again with her djinns it with her it was almost never quiet.

She was grateful Kouen didn't comment on her talking to herself, it was as if his brother was doing what little kids always did, embarrass those older than them by talking about them with no filter-of course it was usual younger siblings who targeted their older siblings to their friends and not the other way around.

'Not that Kouen and I are friends,' Sakura reassured herself looking at Kouen and Kouha, when she thought about it, Kouha and Kouen didn't really have any similar features, not in the same way Kouen and Koumei did, then there was Kougyoku….it would make sense if they came from different mothers but left an uncomfortable churning when she thought about what kind of man their father must be to have had so many children with different women and then still isolating their children in the palace.

"He's asleep," Kouen observed looking at Kouha

Sighing Sakura continued to look down at Kouha "He must've been really tired after that failed assassination attempt. What are you going to do with him?"

"I'll take him back to his estate, he usually doesn't leave because of his mother."

Sakura cocked her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed together and noticing this Kouen began explaining "His mother is mentally ill so Kouha dislikes leaving her side."

"Oh…" Sakura's tone softened as she wondered what the poor boy must've endured, she wanted to ask more questions but she felt that Kouen wouldn't answer them since it wasn't really any of her business, she hadn't even mentioned to him that she met one of sisters. She also knew why Kouen was going to take him back himself instead of calling for someone-it wasn't difficult to see the obvious hardships and slander this child must've endured so instead she asked Kouen "Where's the estate?"

"South of the palace, the far end." Kouen's voice was narrowed with curiosity as to why Sakura asked.

"You are still supposed to be resting, you can't walk that far." Sakura said, her voice harsh, she stood with her hands on her hips and gestured with her head to the bed "You get back to bed, I'll make sure your brother gets back safely."

"He may try attack you again,"

"At least I could stop him if he tried," Sakura gave a smug smirk as she watched Kouen's expression darken.

Kouen walked passed her and over to his desk chair, taking his dark robe that hung over it; he brought it back and threw it over Sakura's head. "Put that on."

Flaying her arms around before pulling the fabric over her head Sakura before inspecting it, holding the robe out and looking at Kouen, his expression unchanging.

"You're wearing less than an entertainer."

Sakura snickered "You would know."

Nevertheless Sakura put on the robe, she was able to take in the design with the gold piping and patterns along the sleeves and hem.

"Fancy,"

"Here," Kouen handed Kouha off to her and then gave her the direction to the state before a brisk greeting and departure since Sakura had no intention of returning later on.

* * *

After managing to take Kouha back to his estate, she had noticed how similar it was to Kougyoku's, it had a sense of emptiness, but judging by the blade marks on the wood she was pretty sure she was in the right place, Sakura left after laying Kouha down and was walking back to her room. The night time made the palace look terribly frightening, it gave an eerie aura, the kind where your imagination would be able to play tricks on you, large spaces, silence and the night were not a good combination if you were alone.

'It's creepy,' Sakura thought clutching the robe closer to her, there was a slight breeze 'Guess I should thank him for the robe after all-I'll sleep on that thought,'

Then she heard it, the unmistakable fluttering of the rukh again and groaned looking up at the sky with disapproving eyes, wishing that the world would simply give her a break already.

'One night of peace and quiet is that too much to ask?'

Nevertheless she followed the fluttering, taking her deeper in the imperial palace, to one of the larger buildings-defiantly not one of residence. She climbed up a large flight of stairs and entered into a long dimly lit hallway with pillars. Sakura failed to understand why she was being lead here, in an abandoned hall in the middle of the night-

"I am telling you we must act quickly,"

"It just isn't possible."

"But you said yourself that time is of the essence, we will miss our chance."

"That's right, we cannot miss out on this opportunity,"

"Yes, we've been searching for so long and now there's one right here we must take while the takings good!"

Sakura heard several voices coming from behind a large, magnificent door that was slightly ajar, quieting her breathing and softening her footsteps she made her way over and crouched down, peering in through the small space. She could hardly see anything, only the floor and some shadows whose owners were clearly angled away from her line of sight but she recognised one of the voices.

"Now, now, we must be patient."

That sickly sweet voice belonged to Gyokuen without a doubt, even though it has been a while since Sakura heard it, she wouldn't forget.

"What are the odds, that what we've been searching for would appear right before us yet we cannot act? Is this a trick of destiny meaning to taunt us?"

"Of course not, you know very well destiny has nothing to do with this, which is why it has happened."

Sakura wanted to push the door a little further to see who else was speaking with Gyokuen but was able to hold back the urge.

"With this new weapon, we'd be able to cross barriers we've never imagined surpassing. Our influence would spread quicker that what Solomon could undo."

Gyokuen spoke "Yes and we'd have the perfect material for the ultimate vessels."

This talk was making Sakura really nervous and she suddenly wished she hadn't followed the fluttering to this place. There were always consequences that came with discovery which were usually equivalent to the level of discovery and right now what Sakura might have discovered could have catastrophic consequences if she wasn't careful.

"We must have her,"

"Soon," Gyokuen said "I've have a plan."

Sakura frowned, who were they talking about and why during such a suspicious time of night? Before Sakura so engrossed by what was happening in front of her through a crack in the door she failed to sense the presence behind her until a firm hand grasped her shoulder making her spin around before another hand covered her mouth from crying out in alarm.

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Sakura's eyes were wide as saucers, of all people that could've found her eavesdropping on Gyokuen and the still mystery figures, it had to be the first prince Hakuyuu, his son. Fate in this world really was cruel.

She attempted to say something against his hand but it came out muffled, looking into crystal blue eyes Sakura felt the gaze pierce straight through her.

"Shh," Hakuyuu told her before glancing back at the door where the voices seemed to have stopped, the shadows behind the door began to grow larger and footsteps were heard getting closer. Standing up, Hakuyuu grabbed Sakura's wrist and began running out of the building with her, she heard a creaking noise, meaning the doors were opening now. Sakura still a bit too shocked to completely process what was happening, so her body reacted on its own with her mind having little influence. What was going to happen now that she had been discovered eavesdropping on a meeting meant only for certain ears that clearly weren't hers.

She didn't protest as Hakuyuu continued to drag her down the stairs when they exited the building and ran down the stairs showing little to no concern for accidently stumbling over a step due to their speed.

When they finally did stop it was under a veranda far from the building, in yet another part of the palace Sakura was unfamiliar with. The buildings all looked the same so Sakura took to remembering physical landmarks from the gardens, like the stone head that looked like an old man's face-a left turn from there took her to her sword lessons, shrubbery with red berries was would mean she was only three turns away from the building where her room was or a fountain with a dragon on top meant she was closer to the building Kouen's chambers were but there were no familiar marks here. In fact the whole area was very empty and instead of grass the outside was tiled with stones.

And to go with the new area was the prince she was yet to interact with; Hakuyuu Ren. The last time Sakura had seen him was after her battle with Kouen when he, Koumei and Hakuren appeared to see one of their relatives half alive with her hovering over him-so not the best of impressions. They didn't speak when they hauled Kouen back to the palace and Sakura immediately began treating his injuries. She hasn't seen him since then, not even when he trained with his brother.

"Um, prince Hakuyuu?"

The Kou prince turned his attention away from his surroundings after making sure they weren't followed and looked at the pinkette, he frowned "What are you doing there?"

Sakura was lost for words, she couldn't tell him it was the rukh that lead her there, but the conversation made her anxious. "I-I got lost on my way back to my room."

"Why are you wandering the palace grounds so late at night in the first place?"

His eyes then wandered to Sakura's form, it wasn't leering in anyway but more like a calculated stare, his eyes seemed more focused on the robe than anything else. "That's a royal robe,"

It finally dawned on Sakura the conclusion he might be drawing on, her hands clenched the fabric 'He does not seriously think I-

"I was just-

He cut her off "Come, I'll escort you back to your room."

* * *

They walked in silence but the tension was crushing, so much so that Sakura's entire form literally slackened at the sight of her room's door. She was quick to enter and turned to give a brief greeting to Hakuyuu.

"Thank you prince Hakuyuu."

He turned around so his back was facing her "In future, you should take a left from the south estate."

In other words, from the estate Kouen resided in.

"It's not what-

"Good night miss Haruno,"

He left without turning back.

Sakura sighed as she closed her door and landed on the bed with an ungraceful 'thud'.

" _How was your evening my king?" asked Beleth_

" _Did you take care of that kid?" asked Gaap_

" _My king?" Stolas called_

But Sakura didn't reply, rolling on her side she closed her eyes and thought back to what she had heard, there was something going on in this palace and she had this horrible feeling that it might have something to do with her.

'Come on Sakura, now you're just being paranoid,'

 **Well sadly that's all for now and probably all for a while since I'm going back to university and I have assignments that need my attention but don't worry, I will be working on the next chapter slowly but surely.**

 **Don't forget to review**


	22. Life in Kou-connecting

**Okay so funny thing, I was going to wrap up Sakura's time in Kou but I found that it's going to take forever, therefore I've decided that I'm rather going to split it into two chapters. Also, if anyone wants to make fan art you don't need to ask me for permission, you are more than welcome but please inform me because I would love to see them and you can check out my fan art of my stories as well on Deviantart username: Katsura369 . I already got some fan art for this story and I have to admit it inspires me to write more.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter, I've been writing it every spare second I would get from university; I've had to had in three essasy for my majors the second week after I came back from my short break. UCT does not show mercy to those who don't put in the effort to meet their standards so I apologize in advance since I know my updates are going to take a while but other than that hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Koumei was laughing, he was laughing so loudly that people walking passes his chamber doors pulled faces of confusion and curiosity, wondering exactly what it was that made the prince with the typically gloomy aura produce such a cheerful sound.

Inside his chambers, lounging on a bed of pillows on the carpeted floors under a dim light surrounded by scrolls was Koumei and Sakura. Sakura had just finished explaining to him what had happened two nights ago, with his brother Kouha attacking her and then bumping into Hakuyuu who caught her wandering around the palace-of course she didn't mention her eavesdropping. Apparently Koumei found it hilarious when she told him she believed Hakuyuu might have formulated a very narrowed minded conclusion as to why Sakura was wearing Kouen's robe.

And he hasn't stopped laughing since then.

"It's not funny," Sakura frowned at Koumei who was wiping tears away in the corner of his eyes.

"I'm sorry but I can't help it, to catch yourself in such a predicament and for it to be prince Hakuyuu of all people."

Sakura titled her head to the side, a habit often done when she was confused or curious "What do you mean?"

"Well nii-san has always had a deep respect for prince Hakuyuu and Hakuren, so if he heard about this I'm sure he'd become frantic." Koumei said and then paused before asking her "Have you told him?"

Sakura shook her head "Of course not! Kouen's already hard enough to deal with, and I don't want to slide back into our old dynamic with his recovery nearly-

"You call my brother by his first name, I didn't know that melee brought the two of you so close."

Sakura coughed nervously, her eyes trailed to the closed windows, the light barely made it through the drapes "We've come to an unspoken agreement to withdraw all formalities,"

She assumed that, after all they just started calling one another by their first names after that time, it still gave her an odd sensation of feelings when she thought about it.

Koumei chuckled "Oh I see and is there a reason for you avoiding my brother now?"

"I'm not avoiding him…You know you really should open a window up in here."

Koumei shrugged "You were the one who wanted to sit and have lunch with me, well this is where I eat. Nothing better than the comforts of your own room."

Rolling her eyes Sakura plucked a grape from the fruit bowl on the floor "I wanted to ask you a few things, about your siblings."

Leaning on his side, hand on his hand Koumei gestured for her to go right ahead and ask, Koumei gave her a sense of comfort that Kouen-with his byzantine behaviour didn't.

"I suppose I could do that, my eldest brother did blackmail you and hold you against your will while my youngest tried to kill you in your sleep. So a bit of compensation is in order."

Sakura's sweat dropped at the blunt statement "Right, well starting with Kouha. At such a young age he's got an incredibly violent nature, according to Kouen his mother has some kind of mental illness right?"

Koumei nodded, his expression turning serious "Yes, she behaves like a child and Kouha is extremely protective of her. He attacks anyone who comes near the estate."

Sakura caught a certain shine in Koumei's face when he continued "In fact it was only last year that we found out about Kouha's existence, Kouen and I went to see him and he came at us with a blade."

Containing a gasp, Sakura crossed her legs, listening attentively. "He rambled on about how he was going to 'pummel' us and then see how our father would 'leave us to rot' because we have become useless. I assumed he was quoting our father at the time."

The way Sakura's heart clenched with pain and sympathy for the poor boy caused her to grab the fabric near her chest. So her analysis was right.

"You should have seen the way my brother reacted though, he allowed Kouha to cut him and then told him that he just need to prove his worth then he and his mother would have a legitimate place to live."

Sakura frowned "He actually said that to a five year old?"

Koumei shrugged "Kouha is incredibly intelligent for his age."

'And sadistic,' Sakura added as a side note, the way Koumei spoke of his brother was as if this was the norm, she wondered what else was going on with this family.

"So what happ-

She stopped when she realised Koumei's eyes were shut and he was snoring softly. Without thinking of consequence Sakura lightly smacked Koumei on the back of his head.

"PRINCE KOUMEI WAKE UP"

Koumei yelped clutching the back of his head "You certainly have a hard hand don't you miss Haruno?"

Leaning back, crossed arms with a slight pout on her face Sakura spoke "I told you before prince Koumei, just call me Sakura and secondly please don't fall asleep."

"The way you bash my head reminds me of my brother,"

Sakura looked at him in disbelief but at the same time her eyes gleamed with curiosity demanding satisfaction "Kouen actually hits you?"

"He does a lot more than that." Koumei said "Like when we first met with prince Hakuyuu and Hakuren, big brother really wanted to make a good impression, but when I greeted I fell over, prince Hakuren rushed to me and I told him it was due to my chronic disease and that if I didn't get back to my room to feed my pigeons and laze around I would die. Of course it was a joke but prince Hakuren got into it quick enough and played along while Kouen was continuously bowing and apologising, completely flustered. Then when we were alone he wrestled me to the ground and kept me in a choke hold."

The pinkette had to do her best not to laugh, she couldn't really imagine Kouen having any sibling quarrels but somehow she managed to create an image of him actually wrestling with Koumei-who probably wouldn't put up much of a fight was too much.

"Kouen must really admire prince Hakuyuu and prince Hakuren." Sakura leaned against her hand

Koumei nodded "He does, he fought with them and their father emperor Hakutoku in order to unify the Eastern Plains."

Sakura listened as Koumei began explaining to her a little about the Kou empire, it started out as a small kingdom in the Far Eastern central plains until the current emperor Hakutoku Ren, managed to unify the two neighbouring kingdoms Kai and Kou.

"That's impressive," Sakura wondered if Koumei knew of his brother's apparent desire to unify the world (she now knew where the ambition might have come from) and rule it on by himself. She chose not to bring it up, some things were better left unsaid.

"Alright, can I ask you something else?"

"Of course but on one condition"

That was unexpected, Koumei didn't seem like the type to ask for favours but she shrugged "Okay what?"

Koumei smiled "Since you dropped the formalities with my big brother you can with me too."

"Huh?"

Pointing to himself he spoke "Call me Koumei too!"

Sakura looked confused before she smiled back "Alright then….Koumei."

They talked for a while longer about anything and everything they could think of before Sakura said she needed to go and see his sister Kougyoku, in which she found out then by Koumei that he has never actually met his sister but she remembered he told her that it was only last year they found out that he and Kouen had a younger brother so it wasn't as much of a shock.

'It's like someone doesn't want them to interact with each other.'

* * *

Kougyoku clapped her tiny hands in delight as she watched the water floating in the air begin to coil around Sakura, never actually touching her as Sakura moved her spear around in a graceful manner, the water seemed to be attempting to take the form of something but every time Kougyoku was barely able to make out some features of the animal like it's scales, claws or eyes then it would vanish before she could identify anymore. Then the water splashed around Sakura, some droplets falling on Kougyoku.

With soft pants Sakura fell down on the grass "That's enough for me,"

" _Not bad my king, at this pace you may yet master my djinn equip," Gaap said_

'Yeah maybe in a year, why are you so difficult?'

Kougyoku ran over to the pinkette, scrunching up the end of her dress so she wouldn't fall, her messy dark pink hair got in face, Sakura swept the long bangs out of her way.

"You're going to fall either way if you don't do something about this,"

"I-I don't think I can do that."

Sakura's head shifted ever so slightly to the side "Oh, why's that?"

When Kougyoku didn't reply, Sakura didn't push for an answer, continuing to smile "You know, you can't hide behind your hair to avoid ridicule."

"How-how do you know that?"

Placing the child beside her, Sakura crossed her legs and began to speak with a far off look in her eyes "See my forehead?"

Kougyoku nodded

"Tell me what you think of it?"

The princess became flustered and began stuttering, whether or not it was due to embarrassment or naïve youth she couldn't find the words.

"It's um…uh…"

This was what Sakura expected "It's huge right?"

Kougyoku turned away, obviously not wanting to say something that would drive away the one person who was giving her attention without obligation. Sakura laughed and gently began stroking the girls head to reassure her of any worries.

"It's alright, I know it's big. In fact when I was a little girl I was teased a lot because of it."

There was a look of surprise on the other darker pinkette's face after Sakura said that. Kougyoku couldn't picture Sakura in a predicament where she had been victimised and bullied, there was a certain light that gave Sakura the impression of someone who was untouchable-at least in Kougyoku's eyes; completely unaffected by the rules of the world, going on in an uncaring manner that gave her a certain power many lacked.

"Really?"

Sakura nodded "On the playground I was always cornered and teased till I cried, I didn't want to go outside anymore and would try to hide away from everyone."

Despite the tone of the story Sakura had a smile on her face as if she was reliving a happy memory, her fingers ghosted over her forehead "I'd hide it with bangs sort of like how you hide your face, I blamed myself for being born like this. Then one day a girl came up to me when I was crying, I thought she was going to make fun of me but instead she asked me my name. Then she looked at my forehead and called me stupid for trying to hide it with my bangs, she said it made me look like a sheep dog."

Kougyoku's eyes widened "What-What happened next?"

Leaning to the side slightly Sakura craned her neck in Kougyoku's direction as if to whisper "The next day, that girl gave me a ribbon and tied my hair up so that my bangs were no longer in my face. She told me how much better I looked but I didn't believe her, I still wanted to hide it but she told me the more I tried to hide it the bigger deal I made out if it, she also told me I didn't have a bad face either and that all I needed was confidence."

"Confidence?"

"Yes," Sakura said in a gentler tone, she began plucking the grass from the ground watching it blow away with the wind, her eyes followed "She became my very first friend, my best friend in fact, she protected me and I idolised her but at the same time I felt inferior, like I couldn't compare to her in anything. I felt like nothing."

Kougyoku's face scrunched up, her eyes glossed "You felt like nothing….?"

Sakura nodded in confirmation seriously "I did, like a dull flower that only complimented the main flower. You know what she told me after I said that?"

Kougyoku shook her head to the rhetorical question.

"She said 'I don't think you're a flower at all Sakura but a bud still waiting to bloom'" Sakura laughed a little, tears gathered in the corner of her eyes which she quickly wiped away "It really hurt to hear that. Then I asked her, why she gave me the ribbon and what it meant, she told me she didn't want me to wither away as nothing but a bud because it was so sad when flowers didn't bloom. I was so happy because for the first time someone saw something in me that I couldn't. She gave me a goal to strive towards and it's because of her that I've lasted this long." Sakura looked at Kougyoku "You remind me of my old self you know that, you're a bud waiting to bloom."

Sakura reached out, gently cupping Kougyoku's face in the palm of her hands "It really is sad when flowers don't bloom because at the end of the day, they might become the most beautiful and strongest of all."

Kougyoku didn't know why but she was crying, silent tears slid down her face but she wasn't sad; she knew that she was feeling nothing but complete happiness. Years of isolation and solitude diminishing slowly.

Before Sakura knew what was happening, Kougyoku had launched herself at Sakura wrapping her arms around the older girl's shoulders. Sakura saw the fluttering around the girl wildly, in happiness.

"Thank you Sakura."

Arms wrapped around Kougyoku returning the girls hug "You're welcome Kougyoku."

* * *

 _Once, there were countless windows connecting all the countless worlds together. Different beings would enter through these windows to come to other worlds. These being were known as the Interlopers._

 _Interlopers are those who enter this world from another through their own means and are not influenced by any will other than their own. It is impossible to make them abide by the way of the world and the flow of the rukh. They are the unattached, the unknown, the rare and the wanted. Interlopers were once vast, entering through the many windows that linked the different worlds together however under the command of King Solomon most of these windows were closed, hidden and sealed. The only way one could travel back and forth between the windows was by using one of the three keys._

Sakura frowned sitting upright after laying flat on her stomach on the mat 'Three keys? I wonder if it's referring to the mirrors.'

" _Well since there are usually only three magi's in the world," Gaap said_

"Only three?" Sakura asked out loud but her djinns were silent, reminding her that there were certain things they were simply not at liberty to tell her. The more she began to translate the questions seemed to form in her mind. She wanted to know what being an interloper meant for her if she wasn't the first.

'Why do you think this King Solomon wanted to close these windows?" she asked

" _We cannot say my king," Beleth told her_

" _Why would you ask something like that?" asked Gaap_

'I was just thinking if these windows were closed was it meant to keep something out or something in?'

Again she was met with silence and this time she was certain her djinns had-perhaps if only, a vague answer to her question. One that they weren't willing to share.

* * *

"Would you stop that!?" Sakura hissed, glaring up at Kouen who was watching her with an intensity that burned, she was currently healing his broken ribs and while she was trying to stay focused on the task she felt uncomfortable under Kouen's gaze.

"I am not doing anything, merely observing."

"Well cut it out, it feels like you're trying to burn a hole through my skull." she snapped before pointing to the window "Observe the outside!"

Kouen scoffed but turned his direction away from Sakura "You're supposedly a medic yet you're becoming flustered by someone looking at you, is it really so foreign for patients to watch you while you work?"

Letting a soft growl pass her lips Sakura began rewrapping Kouen in bandages, making sure that her fingers didn't so much as graze his skin.

"Of course not, but my patients don't usually make me feel like some freak show on display,"

"So only I do that?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she secured the wrappings and stepped back, she crouched down to check on his legs-she had broken one ankle and nearly shattered his kneecap. She didn't miss the arrogance in his tone and that annoyed her. Times like this she preferred when he showed less emotion.

"How much longer will I be forced to endure this?"

She knew he was referring to her prescription of bed rest. "Well actually you're more than capable of walking around now, just nothing strenuous, if you want you can go for a walk right now."

'And get out of my hair,'

Kouen stood up immediately to Sakura's sudden surprise and relief until he stopped to turn back to her and gestured with his head towards the door "Let's go then,"

…

…

…

…

…

"Damn"

* * *

Kouen and Sakura walked beside one another through the veranda overlooking the courtyard; while the passages seemed to be completely silent there was the undeniable sensation of eyes following the pair. Sakura didn't miss the blurring figures that dashed out of sight every time she or Kouen turned their heads.

"I see it's not just you who has the starring problem." Sakura muttered to Kouen "Can't you do something about this?"

"You wouldn't last a second in royal court."

Sakura's head snapped to the side, she scoffed raising her head "Well it's not like I'd ever go there willingly."

"No one ever goes there willingly." Kouen countered "It's merely expected."

Her arms behind her head Sakura cocked an eyebrow curiously "Hey Kouen, I wanted to ask you something."

He glanced her way before turning his attention away again "Then ask."

For a few seconds she thought about how to frame her question until finally she settled "Well remember when you told Gaap about your ambition to unify the world and rule it?"

"Yes," Kouen answered

Now she was thinking very carefully about what she was going to say next because it would be considered a touchy subject-even for Kouen.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?"

He looked at her, arching an eyebrow and she didn't think he was going to reply-at least not the answer to her question, she was actually expecting a snippy remark but instead all she got was "I don't know yet."

She nearly fell over after he said that and couldn't help but lose her composure and splutter "W-what? You don't know?"

"Is that so surprising?" Kouen asked

"Coming from you, yes."

She didn't even bother to sugar coat it, he sounded so sure of what his goal was and what he wanted and he gave the impression he actually knew how he was going to accomplish this goal. He was the eldest son of the emperor's brother so he would have a long line if he was aiming to try and use the Kou Empire that wouldn't be possible unless something happened to the current emperor.

She shook her head mentally scolding herself for even thinking something like that 'My imagination must be working overtime from that last time.'

There were times when she wanted to go back there, back down that dimly lit hallway with the pillars and peer through that door one more time, her curiosity was an itch she could not scratch without arousing suspicion.

'And I do not want to run into Prince Hakuyuu anytime soo-

"Lord Hakuyuu."

Sakura mentally cursed under her breath, the forces in this world were not kind-at least not to her.

"Kouen." Hakuyuu greeted his cousin before glancing in Sakura's direction igniting small flame of panic; their brief meeting before left an odd taste in her mouth, many questions left unanswered but seeing him again made her want to leave.

"Miss Haruno," he greeted

"Prince Hakuyuu," she greeted back in a tone as cold as lard, she didn't miss the crimson eyes flashing her way before looking back.

"How are you feeling Kouen? Are you nearly recovered?" Hakuyuu asked, attention removed from Sakura allowing her to breathe a little easier.

"Nearly, Lord Hakuyuu, thank you for your concern."

"The soldiers miss their general and pray for your recovery."

"I will be in full health soon, there is no need for concern."

"Of course, you could never stay down. By the way…."

Sakura almost openly gaped at Kouen, not only in awe of his polite manner but the respect he had for the first imperial prince and for saying 'thank you,' and while they were talking Kouen's expressions seemed to shift into something almost bashful? Sakura might have been informed of Kouen's 'admiration' for his cousins by Koumei, but to hear something and see it, gave a completely different feeling.

'Guess he's only a jackass to me.'

" _Perhaps," Gaap responded_

"I need to take my leave now, Kouen" he then turned to Sakura "Haruno."

Hakuyuu graciously left without another word or glance at the two while they remained in the same spot, Hakuyuu's presence still hung thick in the air-such a powerful aura he had. There was actually a physical shift that Sakura felt and it was only confirmed when she heard the familiar fluttering around Kouen that seemed-excited, despite his calm demeanour. She wondered if he picked up the brief familiarity in her greeting with Hakuyuu that even she failed to realise until after he left. There was a fragment that wished he would call her out on it right now to get it off her chest but instead he just started walking and turned when he realised she was not following before speaking.

"Aren't you supposed to ensure I don't' further injure myself."

That was all he needed to say to get her feet shuffling along the hallway until she was walking beside him again. As if it wasn't bad enough when one royal kept her walking on eggshells….just as she began to settle around Kouen, no longer needed to be on such high alert; she had to attract the attention of another prince who affected the behaviour of the first.

'My situation could not get worse.'

" _Please my king, do not tempt fate."_

Sakura smiled slightly, turning her head away so Kouen wouldn't' see 'Fate has no influence on me remember?'

" _But it does on those around you.' Countered Beleth_

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

The nervousness in Koumei's voice did not go undetected, he was standing a few paces behind her looking at the compound on the far end of the palace. They were the only ones around despite it being midday, the whole area was eerily quiet.

"If you're so afraid of your own brother, then why did you agree to come along?" Sakura asked, her tone lowered

"Nii-san will not like it if he knew let you come here on your own."

Sakura rolled her eyes, she didn't believe Kouen would be concerned about her wellbeing. Carefully stepping up to the front she opened the door to a dark room. There didn't appear to be anyone around, looking back Koumei was looking around very cautious.

"The last time nii-san and I came here we were cut and pummelled by Kouha,"

"Then go back," Sakura repeated without glancing behind her, her eyes kept darting around till she caught the sight of dark pink vanishing around a corner and made a run for it but had to immediately step back as a glistening silver object flew through the air and became embedded in the wall just inches away from Sakura's head. Koumei let out an audible yelp of surprise and nearly fell over his robes while Sakura eyed the knife and then her eyes travelled back as if the knife had left a trail, leading all the way back to a tiny figure readying another knife.

Reaching behind her without ever taking her eyes off of Kouha, Sakura removed the knife in the wall with one swift tug.

Koumei, who was standing at a considerably safe distance looked between his brother and Sakura, a sense of nervousness enveloped him "Um….hello there Kouha, long time no see. Why don't you put the knives down?"

"Shut up you stupid mop!"

Taking a couple of steps back Koumei muttered something under his breath that neither Kouha or Sakura could identify, Sakura on the other hand remained firm and spoke with an even firmer voice "That isn't a very nice way to speak to your brother."

Kouha's attention returned to Sakura, he held up the knife with a vicious sneer "Go away!"

He threw another knife in the pinkette's direction but it went off course after a 'sshhng' sound and ended up on the floor, far from its target. Sakura held up the knife in her hand "I don't think so, it's dangerous to be playing with knives."

Frowning Kouha lifted his arm up and bent it, ready to throw another blade "Get out of here now you stupid harlot!"

Sakura had to hold back from marching over to Kouha and giving him a smack upside his head for his bad language, the only way young children tended to pick up bad language was by listening to someone else use it.

"That isn't any way to treat visitors, as a prince you should know that."

This only seemed to further enrage the young boy, he began throwing the knives that littered the small table beside him.

"NOT AGAIN" Koumei screamed before running behind a corner to shield himself from what he knew would he a storm of sharp objects being hurled in their direction.

Sakura didn't move an inch.

Kouha watched as the knife once again Sakura, once heading straight but then bounced back after clashing with the swipe of the knife Sakura held. Her expression was calm and her body was lax, she stood up straight instead of crouched down in a defensive position; her arm only slightly angle after deflecting the knives.

"This is very unruly you know," Sakura said, her voice scolding placing her free hand on her hip before deflecting another knife away from her body. Kouha didn't seem to give up.

" _The boy has spirit my king," Beleth said_

" _Yes and quite a temper," added Stolas_

" _That just makes him all the more interesting, wouldn't you agree my king?" Gaap said_

Sakura smirked 'I'll say, I've dealt with individuals with certain psychotic tendencies before but never this young.'

" _Then he should prove a worth challenge," said Stolas_

" _Though I would not encourage accepting my king," Beleth said; of course he already knew his efforts would be fruitless as his king had already made her mind to accept the challenge the moment she entered this house._

"YOU'RE ANNOYING," Kouha shouted while he continued his assault-and what some would call attempted murder. He was now throwing blades using both hands in hopes of rising difficulty for the pinkette so she could not deflect him but it was as if the blinding speed of the knives were equivalent to the pace of a snail as the single knife Sakura held deflected all of Kouha's.

Sakura's entire form-from body to mind remained entirely compose, while she deflected the blades and while she spoke. "So I've been told."

A few short minutes went by before Kouha had run out of art artillery, only one knife remaining, tightly clutched in his small hand. He was panting from the excessive attacking, barely taking a second to rest left him sweaty but his fury did not deplete with his stamina and Sakura believed that was what kept him standing. She herself of course was far from drained, her body specifically trained to endure longer, punishing paces of physical strain. The knives were no longer dancing around Sakura but stood instilled in the floors and walls on either side of her, almost appearing as a path.

"Give up already?" a hint of taunting was evident in her words despite her fairly neutralised tone.

"NEVER" Kouha screamed, pushing on the soles of his feet to spring forward clutching the knife with both hands.

"SAKURA" Koumei was alarmed when his younger brother reached the pinkette, who hadn't moved out of the way.

Kouha smiled when he felt the blade hesitate and then slink forward past the fabric of clothing and waited for the thick warmth of blood meant to flow from the wound, but when nothing came, he realised something was not right and his brief suspicions were confirmed when he was suddenly surrounded by white smoke-Sakura gone.

"W-What?" Kouha's eyes darted around but there wasn't any trace of the pinkette, Koumei joined in the search as well, looking around and then back to where Sakura had vanished like a phantom. They stopped when they heard giggling and then two figures emerging on the other side of the house-A perfectly safe and uninjured Sakura holding hands with an older women with a lax face and a smile of complete ignorance.

Koumei was gaping, holding a shaking finger at the two but mostly in reference to Sakura "H-How, y-you"

Throwing her head back, Sakura laughed "Stunned really doesn't suit you Koumei."

"How did you get there!?" Koumei asked

Hand on her hip, head up Sakura explained "Isn't it obvious? I was never here from the beginning."

"That other you was a fake?"

"A clone," Sakura corrected, she then turned to look at the women beside her "So this must be your mom huh?"

"Eh Sakura…." Koumei could see his brother's face turning red "Wait a second Kouha don't-

"AAARGH"

Kouha didn't listen and charged ahead, the floorboards creaked under the pressed of his heavy yet quick footsteps but at the same time Sakura moved with blinding speed you couldn't see even without blinking she was in front of Kouha, her arm stretched out grabbing him from the front and then manoeuvring behind, planting the both firmly on the floor Sakura then wrapped her legs around the small boy from behind to restrain his movements, despite her strength she could feel the stubborn determination he had to get out of her hold-not that it was doing him much good.

Koumei moved a little closer not because he felt any safer but because he just wanted to make sure what he was seeing was actually real. "When onii-san hears about this he's gonna…" Koumei shook his head, he didn't even want to think about it. He wasn't even sure if it was going to be Sakura to endure the consequences or him for not being sensible enough to prevent her from coming here in the first place.

"I'm not letting go until you calm down." Sakura's statement only agitated Kouha further, he opened his mouth and bit down hard on the dainty yet firm arm around him, so hard little springs of blood began pouring down Sakura's arm and onto the floor.

'Damn! Now I know how that guy I bit in the forest of death felt,' Sakura thought wincing as she felt the six year olds sharp teeth dig into her skin.

" _I hope you plan on soaking that when this is over, my king." Gaap warned "You might get whatever he has."_

" _I don't believe insanity is contagious Gaap but my king I must agree."_

" _MY KING LET GO OF THAT SAVAGE CHILD BEFORE HE TEARS YOUR ARM OFF." " Cried Beleth_

Sakura's lips curved up with strain, her upper lip quivering slightly "Nice try, I'm still not letting go."

"Um, Sakura, perhaps you should reconsider…" Koumei said looking at the blood and back to the two "It might be best to release him and then run."

Sakura's head shot up, her eyes shining almost as savagely as Kouha's "NO he's in a time out and I won't be letting go until he calms down!"

Koumei stepped back, his hands held up as a sign of surrender. "Aren't you worried he's about to tear your limb off?"

"And what do you think he will try to do if I let him go?" Sakura asked and then looked back down at Kouha, his fingernails now also digging into her arm, scratching and then simple holding as if he was trying to throttle someone (of course it wasn't too hard to imagine who).

"Alright mister," Sakura's voice was as strong as her hold-no one was going to break it "Listen here; you cannot think that you can just kill everyone that annoys you and not expect any consequences. You need to pick your fights more carefully or you're going to end up in situations a lot worse."

Kouha kept struggling, though he was quickly running out of energy. Sakura sighed "If you get yourself killed, who's going to be there to look after your mom?"

That caused the child to cease his struggles, though he didn't remove his nails or teeth from her skin.

" _My king…" Beleth began warily_

" _Perhaps you shouldn't" Stolas said_

'Don't worry,'

"You're the one who protects her from everyone right, as admirable as that is you can't deny this fact; you're still a child; you can't fight properly."

Kouha finally leaned his head back to send Sakura a hateful glare, the small indentations revealed without doubt how she had been wounded on her arm. "SHUT UP YOU STUPID BITCH, YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING."

"I know a lot more than you," Sakura countered "You think talking like that and acting like this makes you a grown up? You think it makes your strong? If anything it makes you look more like a child because you don't have the strength to back up that attitude of yours."

" _My king he is a child." Beleth reminded "I don't think understands what you are saying."_

'He is a child who carries a burden and pain some adults never have to shoulder, he understands every word I'm saying.'

"This women in front of us, you mother" Sakura looked up at Kouha's mother who was sitting down, a smile of nothing on her face, she wasn't happy, she wasn't sad, she wasn't trying to hide anything, she just smile. As innocent of a child. "You cannot protect her from the world, not as you are now….and no one else wants to do it because you drive them away."

"LET ME GO," Kouha's struggled weren't as strong as before but he was pushing harder than before, though Sakura could see it…he was cracking. Only a few more pushes and he would either fall off balance towards insanity or a new view and perspective that she wanted to show him.

Leaning down to his ear she whispered in a voice of nothing "You're weak."

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

Koumei was expecting something big from Kouha, a stream of angry shrieks that rattled the floors and cracked the windows, a burst of hate filled energy that would cause him to break free and allow him to murder Sakura; anything along those lines but instead what happened next was something he found even more surprising and terrifying than his initial ideas.

Kouha's shoulders were trembling so much Koumei could see it from where he was standing and when he walked around to get a better look, he was shocked to see large tears streaming down his brother's face, gathering at his chin and falling into a puddle on the floor, mixing with Sakura's blood.

Koumei was struck speechless; he had only seen Kouha cry once when he and Kouen went to see him and Kouen said something that moved Kouha to produce a single tear while he smiled but this wasn't the same, these tears weren't the same, there was much more and they were filled with nothing but sorrow and pain. Kouha's face had turned red, choking down sobs that would come out anyway, his mouth slightly open, it was the first time Kouha had made an expression like that and it was the first time Koumei saw what Kouha really was-a scared child.

"I-I'm weak…." Kouha sobbed, his eyes filled with fear "U-Useless…..ca-can't live…too weak…."

His voice wouldn't permit him to speak further and voice all he ugly thoughts that were swimming in his mind about him.

Sakura released Kouha knowing he had lost the will to resist further, she then rewrapped her arms around him, firm but far more gentle, one hand crossing diagonally from his shoulder to his waist stomach and the other on top of his head giving soft caresses.

"It's okay," Sakura spoke, her voice no longer empty but filled with the softness of a feather, "You can cry as much as you want, never be afraid to cry."

Kouha couldn't respond no matter how hard he tried, he wanted to scream at her but his voice refused to work, he wanted to take one of the many blades lying around them and just plunge it into one of them, he wanted to hate her and yet-the way she held him, the way she spoke. A sense of comfort enveloped him; something he has never been able to experience before; yet there was only one thought that came to mind to define this feeling, this warmth-the warmth of a mother.

When he finally regained the strength to speak again, his words were bitter, more vulgar than any curse words he had ever used and made his immobile form feel nothing but pain.

"I-I am weak…"

Sakura smiled "Because you're crying? No, never."

"I…I'm useless, useless people have to die because they are weak."

"And yet here I still stand," Sakura said, her voice clear and unwavering.

Kouha didn't turn but he sounded surprised "What do you mean?"

"I am so weak, weaker than anyone realises and I always will be, because I wasn't able to save the ones I care about." Sakura said, her voice now begging to fill with melancholy "But I am also strong, because no matter how weak I am, no matter how hopeless things see, I will never give up. I will run, I will cry but I will never give up."

Shifting Kouha so that the boy was now facing her, "You've endured a great deal and yet here you are, still breathing, if that isn't true strength I don't know what is. You just need to learn to harness that strength and become even stronger; you can' believe going on in solitude like this is going to help anyone, not you or your mother."

Kouha began wiping his tears, sniffing softly every now and then before looking at Sakura, any sense of hostility gone.

"What do I do then?"

Sakura smiled, placing her hand on his cheek "Make yourself stronger, crawl out of this solitude and show the world you are not scared; hiding only spurs on misery and dismal."

"How do I do that?" Kouha asked, fresh tears readying to fall, tears of frustration.

"Now that you've cried a river it's time to build a bridge over it. Grow strong by proving that you are not weak-prove it to yourself not those around you. In turn others will see."

Coming up behind Kouha with unbalanced steps Kouha's mother crouched down, causing him to turn and look at her. She was no longer smiling, her lips curved downwards; awkwardly she reached out her hand and began rubbing her sons cheeks with the back. Kouha was stunned.

"It doesn't take a stable mind to love someone but a strong heart."

Kouha's tiny arms wrapped around his mother's shoulders as far as they could go while his mother remained perfectly still, responding with soft hums but Kouha knew that it was her way of comforting him.

" _That was quite a speech, my king." Beleth said_

" _You are truly unlike any other my king," Stolas praised_

" _Yeah, I have to admit you are pretty amazing," Gaap said "Although I can't help but wonder; are you a sadist by any chance? That was rather harsh.'_

'I only broke him down to build him back up, if he had continued as he was without finding true inner strength then he would remain vulnerable while living in ignorance.'

' _You certainly seemed to know a lot about weakness though." Gaap pointed out_

'I was one of its biggest contenders.'

Sakura saw a fluttering around them and she knew, she had done something to make a difference. A tear rolled down her cheek 'I wish I could've done this for you two as well. Sasuke, Naruto.'

As Koumei watched he scene unfolding before him, standing from afar, having viewed each person in a different light; his eyes remained on Sakura and he wondered….

'Onii-san; what exactly have you brought into our home?'

* * *

 _Once, there were countless windows connecting all the countless worlds together. Different beings would enter through these windows to come to other worlds. These being were known as the Interlopers._

 _Interlopers are those who enter this world from another through their own means and are not influenced by any will other than their own. It is impossible to make them abide by the way of the world and the flow of the rukh. They are the unattached, the unknown, the rare and the wanted. Interlopers were once vast, entering through the many windows that linked the different worlds together however under the command of King Solomon most of these windows were closed, hidden and sealed. The only way one could travel back and forth between the windows was by using one of the three keys._

 _King Solomon created three keys to unlock the windows, forged in the form of mirrors with a magic giving new means for the windows. These three mirrors were bestowed upon the magi to guard and protect and use to expand their knowledge as sorcerers of creation using what the rest of the world cannot touch or see. These mirrors are known as The Looking Glass, a magical item allowing its viewer to see whatever they desire and enter into the different worlds._

"So I was right, the three keys are three mirrors."

Sakura lied on her back, the single candle flickering beside her bed on the nightstand, the pillar of wax where the flame stood had melted away and was nearly a stub. The dim light hurt Sakura's eyes but she didn't want to put the scroll down just yet.

"And King Solomon made them for the magi's to enter into the different worlds."

" _My king, I explained that to you in the beginning," Beleth said_

"But you haven't mentioned King Solomon."

" _We are not at liberty," Stolas said_

"Relax," Sakura said "I wouldn't force it out of you unless I felt it was necessary."

" _Why don't you heal those wounds?" Gaap asked_

Looking down at the bandage wrapped tightly around her arm till her elbow, Sakura had healed the tissue on the inside so it wouldn't scar but had left it only to a minor flesh wound.

She smiled "The wound I gave that boy with my words are far deeper than this wound,"

Sakura turned on her side and leaned over her bed to blow out what was left of the candle; falling asleep within minutes.

" _What a strange girl…" Gaap said_

" _Our strange girl."_

" _Our king," Beleth said_

* * *

"Sakura!"

"Haruno-san!"

Sakura barely stumbled when two small figures ran into her, bumping at her waist. She smiled down at Hakuryuu and Hakuei. They had come running up to her from the end of the gardens when they saw her walking through the veranda and they weren't alone.

"Wow, why hello your highnesses." Sakura greeted gently petting their heads

"We haven't seen you in so long!" Hakuryuu said, his voice exaggerating the time.

"We thought you had left," Hakuei added

It was understandable that they would think that, after Kouen decided to shorten her leash she hadn't seen them and even after she was so busy with Kouen's recovery, and his siblings; she barely had the chance to do anything else.

"Can you come play with us?" Hakuren asked

"I wish could, but I'm afraid I have to go and see your cousin Kouen now."

Hakuei's expression turned grim "We heard he was hurt."

'I wonder if they know how,'

"Don't worry," Sakura reassured crouching down to their level, her hands on her knees "He's going to be just fine and if you want to play I should be free for a bit later this afternoon."

Hakuei and Hakuryuu's eyes shined; they nodded eagerly before turning around when another voice called "Hakuei, Hakuryuu don't run off like that!"

A young man came rushing behind the two siblings; it was someone who Sakura was familiar yet unacquainted with. She had only seen him from a distance before sparring with his brother Hakuyuu and the other time after her battle with Kouen but as with Hakuyuu they have never actually spoken before. The second prince of Kou finally seemed to recognise her presence when his eyes landed on her and didn't seem to look right through her and pretend she wasn't there-which a part of her was hoping would since her encounter with his older brother.

But then he did something that surprised her-he smiled and in that instant his face changed, a familiar flash of a boy with bright yellow hair and an even brighter smile appeared.

'Naruto?'

Just like that he was gone and she was back in reality, standing in the courtyards of the Kou palace, in front of the second prince Hakuren. Getting her barring's Sakura put her hands together as she had seen many do when greeting the Kou royalty.

"Prince Hakuren,"

"Lady Haruno," Hakuren replied with a slightly bow

'Again the lady thing?' Sakura wondered slightly irritated

"Please prince Hakuren, just call me Sakura, believe me I'm no lady-as you've witnessed during our last meeting."

When Sakura began treating Kouen within the castle, she may have shown a little less than graceful part of her that shouting at all the physicians and other staff that got caught up with their own curiosity and worry that they threw caution to the wind because of that she had to get a little forceful; like grabbing them by the back of their necks and tossing them out of the room like rag dolls.

" _Not your most dignified moment my king," chided Gaap "But damn funny,"_

Shaking off her djinn's comment she turned her attention back to Hakuren who started speaking "Okay, Sakura. I actually wanted to talk to you for a while."

"Huh?" she sounded more surprised than she meant to.

"Well after the way you fought Kouen, why wouldn't I?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow and wondered if he remembered the part where she almost killed a member of his household.

When she didn't respond to what seemed to be a rhetorical question he continued "I actually wanted to ask you something."

Sakura stared at him, Hakuryuu and Hakuei watching them with big, curious eyes.

"Yes prince Hakuren?"

Taking both of her hands in his, pulling her a little closer, to him; looking her right in the eyes causing her to feel a jolt of nervousness.

"Um….prince Hakuren-

"Will you train with me sometime?"

"What?"

"It's just that I know you spar with Kouen but I really want to see what you can do for myself!"

…..

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…

…..

"Sure."

Hakuren pulled back, a grin spread across his face, eyes shimmered with a child-like excitement "Really?"

"Of course." Sakura smiled, though it was blank. She felt as if she had just fallen deeper into the pit that was the Kou Empire, and it was going to take a while to climb back out.

"Great!"

Sakura didn't know what it was that reeled her in to agreeing to this, they were strangers after all.

'He's optimism and cheerfulness must be what did it,'

" _And yet another royal has joined the ranks," said Stolas_

" _As if she wasn't busy enough with the other Kou children." Beleth sighed_

" _Well she did need one more to complete the set."_

* * *

"Well, it's official; you're healed." Sakura stated removing her hands from Kouen's form before gathering up the bandages on the floor.

"It felt official three days ago."

"Yes well I'm saying you're fully healed now." Sakura snapped gathering up the rest of the supplies in her arms. "You can now go back to your usual routine, training; translating scrolls and being a complete ass."

Kouen didn't comment on her insult; he began slipping on the white robe over his torso "You're going to leave."

Sakura seemed to stop moving halfway across the room to turn back, a part of her had expected this form him. The reason for her remaining in the beginning was because of his blackmail, then after it was to self-duty and perhaps guilt which lead her to stay until his injuries were healed and now that he was fully recovered….

"Yes."

"When?"

That was a question Sakura wanted to answer for herself, since recently she had gotten into a new routine around the palace. Her days revolving mostly around the children who wanted her company; Kougyoku, Hakuei and Hakuryuu-and there was now also Kouha-yes, recent events took an interesting turn for them and now she was getting requests for visits from the boy; the first time he sent for her one of the maids said he threatened to skin a cat alive and mix its innards in her food if she failed to get Sakura to go see him. So of course she went but she reprimanded him for threatening the messengers; even so he seemed happy to see her. He even said he wanted her to teach him how to use blades like her; which she reluctantly agreed to.

" _Was it really necessary to take on yet another 'project' my king?" Stolas asked_

" _Yeah, you've got enough kids to take care of and I don't think you'd like one who threatens to put leftover animal innards in food." Gaap grimaced_

That had been her djinn's complaints but at the end of it, she agreed.

"Soon,"

"That does not specify."

Sakura shrugged and started moving again, heading towards the door, but Kouen's voice echoed through the room causing her hand to freeze mere inches away from the handle and out of the unpleasant-to-be-in-area, also known as Kouen's room.

"You're staying."

It wasn't a question nor an order, it was a statement of observation; a realisation and while it would have made Sakura a little more comfortable for Kouen to rather not say it, the damage was done.

"Yes,"

She was staying, she didn't know how long but she could not leave things the way they were, during her stay she had involved herself-possibly a little too much with certain individuals in the palace and she would need to take responsibility for it. The same way she took responsibility for Kouen.

Of course she wasn't going to tell him that.

"At least until I find a boat to take me to Reim."

* * *

"Hello little dove,"

"H-Hello your highness," Sakura greeted politely though there was the slight twitching of her fingers against one another-something she had been doing since this morning. After her training with Mahir and time with Kougyoku, then on her way to Kouha she had received a message saying that she was requested by Gyokuen Ren for lunch in a few hours, unfortunately for her she agreed to it and had to cut her lessons with Kouha short. Which now lead to her current situation, under a pavilion in one of the many gardens; alone, with Gyokuen. The women who gave Sakura the inkling that there was something lurking beneath the surface; that was at least her notion since that night she had heard her with those men.

Of course Sakura was certain Gyokuen was unaware that she had eavesdropped on her private conversation with whoever those people were.

With a wave of her hand to gesture to the neatly set furniture of tables and chairs as if she was pulling strings attached to her limbs Sakura moved to the other side and sat down, her eyes wandered over the food with the deliciously mouth-watering aroma and it momentarily helped her settle.

"Please help yourself," Gyokuen said her smile broadening

Sakura began to slowly fill her plate, her eyes trying to focus on what she was dishing but every now and then she would look up at Gyokuen who continued to stare at her with that unwavering-yet for some reason discomforting smile. Sakura nearly sighed in relief when she turned away from the pinkette and began dishing her own plate and in that time, Sakura did not want to take her eyes off of her after they proceeded to eat.

There was complete silence which brought a kind of comfort and she began to feel a less tense about her predicament until the moment Sakura's mouth was full and Gyokuen decided to speak, "Do you like it?"

Unable to answer without embarrassing consequences Sakura just nodded her head and attempted to chew faster without being obvious.

"I'm glad, honestly I've begun to find the food a little bland," Sakura wasn't sure how to feel about her comment but decided to reply to it out of an act of curtsy.

"Well your highness's pallet is probably just use to this kind of food. Therefore it wouldn't be unusual for your sense of taste to believe familiar flavours dull."

There was the slightest narrowing of Gyokuen's eyes "Oh? That's an interesting theory, are you basing this off personal experience?"

Sakura shrugged forcing a smile "It's more based off the concept too much of a good thing,"

Gyokuen laughed, her shoulders shaking and her hand held up to her mouth seemed to add to the dramatic effect, "Oh I see;"

When she quieted again, they resumed eating, only making small comments mostly along the lines of the different tastes and flavours of food set out in front of them, each in small quantities but incredibly filling.

Gyokuen was one to lift the comfortable silence "Would you lie to test that theory?"

Looking up from her plate, Sakura appeared lost "Huh?"

"Your theory, say you remained in the Kou Empire longer than you intended do you think you would get bored?"

Assuming this was all in a theoretical context Sakura chose not to be discouraged by it, though her eyes did not meet Gyokuen's when she spoke "I am not sure, I guess it would depend on what kept me here in the first place."

Gyokuen appeared intrigued, leaning on her hands as to listen closely as if dismissing her position and social status as empress, she now had the appearance of a young women, infected with curiosity.

"Oh, and if you remained what do you imagine your occupations at the palace would be?"

Sakura put her finger on her chin in thought "Well theoretically, if I became a staff member in the palace; preferably a medic because that would really keep me busy and it is one of my specialities, or maybe-

" _A full time nanny with no pay" Gaap suggested with a snicker_

'Shut up,' Sakura curtly ordered in her thoughts, mentally changing her tone of voice before continuing

"I don't think I would mind being a caretaker either," Sakura said before taking a sip of her drink; it had a sweet tang to it which burned her pallet after "For children though,"

"I see, so children like Hakuryuu and Hakuei?"

Sakura nodded "Yes your highness and I-

"And Kougyoku and Kouha," she finished

Sakura's forehead creased and her eyebrows furrowed together; she wasn't aware that Kougyoku knew she had been going to see Kougyoku and Kouha; both preferred to remain at their estates because Kougyoku was still too introverted and Kouha didn't want to go too far because of his mother. There were hardly any staff that appeared around the estates either.

"Your highness how did you-

"Well I have always ensured that the nanny's and staff that take care of my dear children were up to standard, even my brother-in-laws offspring because every child in the palace are considered my children and I have to take care of them."

"That is a very kind notion,"

Although Sakura couldn't help notice the distance from how she used the term offspring, which was very technical.

"You seem to have become rather fond of them yourself, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, I can't really deny that." Sakura said slowly, her eyes trailed to the table

"I understand, I especially feel for Kougyoku and Kouha; given their tragic background and situation with their mother's."

Sakura's eyes appeared to gloss over when she thought about the two young children "Yes, I really feel for them."

"Such a kind heart." Gyokuen reached out her hand and Sakura felt a soft featherlike touch glide across the side of her before switching to the other, she looked at Gyokuen eyes wide, shock evident on her face. There was something about the way this women's fingers brushed over her skin that was both comforting and at the same time made her wary.

"Perhaps I can start to think of you as a daughter as well, in a different sense of course"

Sakura was readying to ask what she meant by that, there was another ominous feeling looming over her when she looked at Gyokuen, a hidden meaning behind her words she wanted to find out but Gyokuen beat her to it.

"Tell me little dove, are you enjoying yourself at the palace?"

Sakura nodded quietly and it was the truth, thanks to her occupations she felt like she was doing something with meaning.

"Would you say you are happy?"

"Your highness I don't under-

"It's a simple question little dove, are you happy?" Gyokuen's smile somehow broaden

Sakura appeared to be thinking, preparing for an answer; a frown on her face which suggested she was going to say something that would abandon all of Rurumu's ethic teachings but before she could open her mouth a large figure appeared behind Gyokuen's chair who she recognised as Hakuyuu.

Gyokuen turned around with a bright smile, "Oh my dear boy Hakuyuu! What brings you all the way out here? Why don't you take a seat and join us-

"I apologise for interrupting, mother but Kouen has requested for Miss Haruno. It is urgent."

When Hakuyuu spoke, his voice was distant, holding no meaning to his words making them unreadable, unable to distinguish between a lie and the truth but when Sakura looked at his face and saw the way he was looking at his mother, she saw something so hostile that she had to turn away.

"That's such a shame but as she is Kouen's guest it wouldn't be right for me to deny him of her." Gyokuen stood up and came around the table to Sakura's side, placing her hand on the pinkette's shoulder "I do hope we can do this again."

Sakura smiled slightly "It would be my honour your highness."

Gyokuen leaned down, surprising Sakura when she felt a pressure on the side of her cheek, soft lips descending, Sakura wondered if Gyokuen could feel her stiffen under her touch.

"Farewell little dove."

….

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* * *

When Sakura realised something was off, it was not because of that fact that Hakuyuu had lead her out of the courtyard and through the palace-away from Kouen's quarters or the fact that she knew Kouen was going to busy all day catching up on all the work he had missed during his recovery or that she knew straight out that Hakuyuu was lying from the beginning. It was that Sakura was sure with every fibre of her being that Kouen would never send Hakuyuu whom he respected and held so highly to do a chore like this and she was sure that Gyokuen must have known this as well but she didn't confront her son on it, after all Sakura was technically Kouen's guest.

Now knowing this lead to a new dark thought, why exactly was prince Hakuryuu drawing her away from Gyokuen in the first place?

"Prince Hakuyuu" Sakura called for the fifth time since they left the courtyard; Hakuyuu held her wrist and pulled her along through the open hallways; throughout this he did not say a word nor turn to face her once and Sakura would not take it anymore.

She planted her feet firmly on the ground, becoming like an anchor with her strength causing Hakuyuu to physically jerk back and turn around to face her.

"Prince Hakuyuu would you please tell me where you are taking me?"

Sakura felt Hakuyuu attempting to pull her, testing her strength which proved to be futile as she would not move.

"Haruno, I need you to stop resisting immediately and follow me,"

"Prince Hakuyuu, I have no intention of moving until you tell me why and where you are taking me." Sakura stated, her voice as firm as the ground she stood.

When Hakuyuu looked at Sakura, he knew that he wouldn't be getting the pinkette to listen to him if he simply ordered her to. She clearly had enough of that after dealing with Kouen.

As he turned around to face her completely Hakuyuu's eyes darted around for a few seconds, left and right, as if he was looking for something that wasn't there.

"Listen Haruno, you should not be associating yourself so casually with my mother."

The way he said mother seemed to have the exact same distance Sakura picked up when Gyokuen mentioned children.

"Why is that prince?" Sakura asked curtly; losing patience

"It is not any of your concern, you should simply just stay away from her."

Sakura's kept a passive expression on her face; she did not think Hakuyuu's order was on account of concern for his mother in terms of motive. Whatever the reason was, she did not appreciate the tone of voice he was using with her.

"She was the one who called on me in the first place, I did not think it would be in good sense to refuse her."

"Well the next time she calls on you, politely decline." Hakuyuu said "You are Kouen's guest, there is no need for you to take up anyone else's time is that understood?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes "No,"

For the first time Sakura saw a real change in Hakuyuu's expression; his eyes widened, eye brows raised, mouth turning downward in clear surprise. Obviously he was not use to anyone defying him but Sakura was not just anyone.

Hakuyuu's expression changed quickly again, turning into a frown; Sakura just crossed her arms "If you want me to stay away from your mother, you're going to have to give me a reason besides I would very much like it if she invited me to speak with her again, perhaps then I can bring up her meeting."

"You will do no such-

"Let's get one thing clear Prince Hakuyuu, I am not one of your subjects therefore I am not obligated to listen to anything you have to say." Sakura said.

Hakuyuu could see the flame of defiance burning in her eyes; she was clearly not going to submit to his request/order. Despite the irritation it caused, Hakuyuu couldn't deny the enticing thrill he induced as well.

"Is the reason you want me to stay away from your mother have something to do with that night?" Sakura could not have been any blunter if she tried, that night still played on her mind. Like a puzzle Sakura was trying to piece together, only problem was she didn't have the all the pieces, but she suspected that Hakuyuu was hiding the other pieces behind his back-and she wanted them.

"You're very persistent aren't you Haruno?"

Sakura shrugged "I only wish to understand your motives Prince Hakuyuu-but I suppose if you're not going to enlighten me, I shall take my leave."

Slowly, yet deliberately Sakura turned on her heel and took three steps swinging her arms back and forth with each step before she felt Hakuyuu's fingers wrapped around her wrist and roughly pulling her back causing her to stumble before she was spun around, Hakuyuu removing his fingers from her wrist and now clutching her tightly on her shoulder's. Sakura was slightly surprised when she saw the look on his face, his entire face was shining with emotion-in these terms she assumed he and Kouen were cut from the same cloth but it looked like there was a large differentiation between the two.

"Listen," Hakuyuu hissed softly "You need to stay away from that women; because if you don't you will reap the consequences. As for that night you should never mention it again not to me or Kouen or anyone."  
Sakura narrowed her eyes, she was far from intimidated but she was more intrigued; moving her hands trailing her fingers lightly along the Hakuyuu's forearms in a gentle manner before reaching his wrists and grasping it tightly-not enough to sprain, break or shatter the bone but enough to make him actually cringe.

"That night Prince Hakuyuu….what were you doing?"

Hakuyuu's expression flickered, realisation settling in and placing a deep form on his face, his eyes barrowed and his teeth clenched tightly.

" _Um, my king he looks really angry." Gaap said nervously_

Sakura smirked 'That face is confirmation, let's see what else I can find out.'

 _Stolas swallowed nervously "My king, I would advise against this."_

But Sakura had already made up her mind and would not heed her djinns warnings and continued "I think it's clear that you were not supposed to be there either wandering around."

"I am at liberty to do as I please in my own home, unlike you." Hakuyuu retorted

"Perhaps, but you weren't supposed to in that particular place that night either," Sakura said tilting her head to the side, a glimmer of mischief in her face "You were trying to spy on your mother weren't you?"

Hakuyuu stepped back as Sakura released his wrists; he was now glaring at her, the expression of a very severe person. He stepped forward, steady and strong till his face was so close Sakura could feel his breath ghosting over her forehead, she had to strain her neck slightly to be eye to eye with him at this distance.

"You need to be more aware of your position Miss Haruno, disrespect does not go without retribution." Hakuyuu warned "I will not repeat myself, stay away from Gyokuen. What you heard was not meant for your ears, it had nothing to do with you."

Sakura snickered slightly, her expression going lax with the right corner of her mouth drawing up "Strange. You're reaction and words are giving me the exact opposite notion. Then again I can always find out for myself."

"You think yourself untouchable?"

"Of course not, but I find myself more than capable to deal with those who might try," Sakura seethed; she needn't mention what happened with Kouen because he already saw what she was capable of.

"I will not allow it." Hakuyuu said "I will not allow you to do as you please here anymore."

Sakura drew backed, her arms crossed "We'll see about that."

" _My king are you mad!?" Stolas asked "That is the first prince you just-_

" _You certainly have a lot of backbone my king, I have to commend you." Gaap said_

" _I would not encourage her Gaap," Beleth said before addressing Sakura "My king, I do not think that you should pursue any answers-_

'I was still mauling over whether or not I wanted to look for answers but thanks to that other stupid prince I definitely will now'

' _I think she is just doing this to spite the prince,' Gaap confirmed_

" _You think?" Beleth and Stolas sighed_

* * *

"DAMMIT I MISSED AGAIN."

Arms crossed Sakura watched Kouha let out his frustrations, getting the ground till there was nothing but a patch of dirt where neatly planted grass once lied. Sakura learned in the last few days of teaching Kouha that it was better to let the boy get his anger out of his system and then attempt to talk him down.

Kouha turned to her, angry tears in the corner of his eyes "I TOLD YOU I CAN'T THROW THAT FAR."

He was pointing to the target that had been set a few metres away, it was just a small log with a target range drawn on it, there were a few visible marks on the outer rings and only one in the centre. That was where Kouha had managed to land a single hit the last time. He had complained throughout the training sessions, but when he hit the target his complaints died but they started back up when Sakura moved it an extra five metres away.

"You said you wanted me to teach you how to wield a blade,"

"I MEANT A SWORD."

Sakura raised an eyebrow "With your size it would be difficult for you to wield a sword-even one fitted for your size because your body hasn't been trained to handle the strain; that's why I'm teaching you to use daggers since you're moderately skilled at that, but if you want to learn swordplay you could always ask your brother-

Kouha shook his head vigorously "No, no, no, stupid, that won't work, En-nii won't be surprised if I don't learn by myself!"

Sakura's expression grew soft, her features becoming lax. Kouha may be considered a bit disturbed with a slight personality disorder-that's how she would word it but he was defiantly loyal when it came to his brother.

"Fine I'll teach you what I've learned at sword play."

Kouha's eyes began to shine in anticipation but Sakura continued before he could say anything "But only if you hit the target's bull's-eye."

Appearing as if he was about to protest but then didn't, Kouha turned around to gather up one of the daggers from the ground, he positioned himself as Sakura taught him, drawing his arm back before throwing it forward, he released the dagger but it only hit the outside of the rings.

Kouha was glaring at the target so hard he appeared ready to attack it as if it was alive and mocking him. Sakura placed her hand on his shoulder; he stiffened and then looked at her.

"Here's a little trick for you, don't aim."

"Huh?"

"You heard me," Sakura moved back crossing her arms again

"Never aim? But how am I supposed to hit the target?"

With a slim finger Sakura gestured to his eyes "Your eyes will know where the blade needs to go; you won't always have the luxury of time when you're fighting."

"Huh?" Kouha looked both dumbfounded and annoyed.

Pointing to the target in the distance Sakura leaned down to Kouha's height "Up until now all you've been doing is swinging those blades around and because of your age and status-and possibly because most of your attacks were ambushes, your actions were dismissed but that's not going to be the case forever."

Hand on Kouha's shoulders Sakura turned him around so his back was facing the target, placing a new dagger in his hand.

"Oh and one more suggestion, turn the target into someone you despise and you want to strike them directly in the heart."

" _Well this is certainly an interesting method of teaching," Gaap said offhandedly_

" _My king, in theory that would work but in reality-_

There was a whizzing sound that lasted for no more than two seconds before a clear thud was head, Sakura smirked when she saw Kouha had thrown the dagger across the field of grass, into the target, right in the centre….

Sakura Smirked widely 'You were saying?'

 _Beleth sighed "Perhaps we should stop correcting our king,"_

Kouha spun around to look at Sakura, a huge grin plastered on his face, one of satisfaction and arrogance.

'I can see how he and Kouen are related.'

"Alright, guess we're starting swordplay."

"YES" Kouha cheered, both arms up in the air

"Of course only if you manage to hit the target like that every day from now on." Sakura said cheekily

"WHAT"

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Sakura muttered glaring powerfully at the top of her dresser, it was where she usually kept the scroll along with her translations, what she found instead was met with a recently smoky, musky smell of a fire and ashes of what once was her translated scrolls. On top of the ashes was an unburnt neatly set note.

 _ **YOU ARE PLAYING WITH FIRE**_

 _ **AFIRE WILL TURN EVERYTHING TO ASH**_

 _ **WHAT WILL YOU DO IF WHEN IT DOES THE SAME TO YOU?**_

* * *

 **That's all for now, I'm sorry I really wanted to wrap up this part but I found once I started writing I couldn't stop and it was longer than I anticipated. Hope this ties you guys over till the next chapter.**

 **Don't forget to review**


	23. Declarations, clarificaitons, resolves

**HELLO EVERYONE.**

 **WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS ONE OF THE LONGEST CHAPTERES IN THE HISTORY OF CHAPTERS THEREFORE I ADVISE YOU TO PACE YOURSELVES; DON'T FORGET YOUR LIFE AWAY FROM THE SCREEN AND ENJOY THIS CHAPTER TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY.**

* * *

The air was cold, like a wet blanket wrapped around you, the floors were hard and unstable, rocking back and forth, cries and unfulfilled prayers echoed from voice to voice but the rattling of metal against each other and the floor drowned out the voices. Yet despite how it smothered the voices, it also spurred them on, induced fear, the fear of the inevitable and what was to come; the cold metal against their bare necks, wrists and ankles unbearable. The constant rocking along with fear induced nausea caused many to become lose whatever they had eaten giving the cramped under deck where they were a terrible odour that made eyes water.

Yet, among all the panic and fear there was one individual who did not react, a girl with deep blonde hair touching the floor when she sat, her skin near flawless aside from the few patches of dirt, her form leaned against the hard surface of wood, her emerald green eyes did not dare to look around the room for fear of temptation, the temptation to break free of her shackles that those fools thought would hold her along with all the other's but she couldn't do that; she could not act because otherwise her efforts would be for nothing.

Still it agitated her, hearing the voices begging so pathetically in vain. The powerless and her undying urge to help those who could not themselves. She could not do anything.

"SHUT UP YOU WORTHLESS TRASH,"

Some cries grew louder while other's few soft, but all the girl did was sit in a corner, knees tucked under her chin, avoiding any lingering gazes that would fall on her-she was after all an unusual specimen.

'Which will only make it all the more easy for me.'

She looked up and sighed softly rubbing her eyes, recollecting how she ended up in this situation in the first place-a story unlike the regulars.

'Stupid Sinbad.'

* * *

Sakura learned that a long time ago that rumours were nothing more than lies based off of misinterpreted truths; twisted and turned to create something toxic-a drug for those who could not satisfy their hunger and curiosity with reality, in need of distraction and that gossip was what nursed this beast; feeding it with whispers; until the beast becomes so big it feeds itself and the truth from which is was misinterpreted and born dies, falling on deaf ears. Unfortunately for Sakura, this beast known as rumours had been feasting off of her existence in Kou's imperial palace and it was being fed well. From the moment she set foot in the palace there had been talk of her purpose, who she was, why she was here. Some thought she was a concubine Kouen had picked up; she was unique with pink hair and those bright green eyes but then after defeating Kouen, she was recognised as another dungeon capturer and thought to be recruited for the royal army but soldiers had put an end to that rumour; while she was treating Kouen she was then considered a healer, by then there were several different rumours circulating all around; this particular beast of a rumour had grown more than one head. One in particular had been created just recently concerning Sakura's current and perhaps future status in the Kou Empire….

'And because of that idiot prince Hakuyuu….' Sakura glowered thinking back to the specific turn of events a few days ago.

* * *

" _You honestly don't give up do you?"_

 _Sakura sighed softly, though there was a hint of a smile on her face. She would have hated having walked around the palace grounds in the middle of night for nothing._

 _Two nights ago Sakura discovered that her room and been broken into; the scroll she had been translated burned into ashes, leaving the remains behind in her draw with a note attached. Sakura had been awake that entire night trying to think of who might do this, who she had angered and there was only one person who came to mind through all of that no matter how she tried to look at it. The top of her list-_

" _Prince Hakuyuu," Sakura greeted with a sweet smile "Up for a late night stroll once again."_

 _Hakuyuu narrowed his eyes crossing his arms over his chest "You are treading on dangerous grounds Haruno,"_

 _Sakura raised an eyebrow "In a figurative or literal sense?"_

" _Don't play coy."_

 _Moving her hands away from her chest and to her hips, Sakura took a defensive stance. "I could say the same to you."_

 _Reaching into the pockets of her shorts she brought out the note and shoved it towards him. As Hakuyuu took the note from her, he didn't break eye contact. Once the piece of parchment was unfolded he finally looked away from her, darting from one side to the next. It took no more than two seconds before he was finished reading._

" _So this is the reason for you wandering the palace grounds again? You're looking for whoever sent this threat?"_

" _Yes, I was looking for you." Sakura snapped_

" _You assume I sent this?"_

" _And burned my scroll while you were at it, didn't you say that there would be consequences for my disobeying you?"_

 _Hakuyuu frowned, his fists clenched around the paper "I warned you of the consequences-_

" _So you admit it?"_

" _I did not admit to anything." Hakuyuu said, there was a hidden fury behind his expression. It made her wonder what he was so angry about._

" _ **Wait a minute my king," Stolas said "If he was lying, why would he react like this?"**_

' _To piss me of.'_

" _ **I don't believe that's the reason but I've found it easier not to jump to conclusions."**_

" _Look," Sakura ran a hand through her hair, the night air hitting her skin as she held back from running her hands up and down her arms. "You already burned my scroll and those might have been really important for me. There's no point in denying-_

" _I am not denying anything." Hakuyuu interrupted "I am only going to say this once; I did not set your scrolls on fire and I did not send you this note. If confronting me was the only reason you came out here tonight I suggest you go back to your room a Miss Haruno or perhaps Kouen's."_

 _Sakura momentarily abandoned her resolve to confront Hakuyuu and decided to switch the topic to save her dignity._

 _Sakura spoke slightly flustered "Whoa, let's get one thing straight, I was not brought to this palace of my own free will and Kouen and I are in no way engaging in relations that is in anyway pass platonic. Do you understand Prince Hakuyuu, because I won't just stand by and have my morals questioned."_

 _Hakuyuu took a short period of silence before he attempted to respond but it was not a response Sakura was expecting. Grabbing her wrist, the prince pulled her towards him and leaned in till their faces were a few inches apart._

 _Sakura frowned readying to question his actions-and backhand him but all her protests and ideas of retaliation faded as the sounds of footsteps grew louder._

" _Don't move." Hakuyuu whispered, placing his hand on the side of her face in a gentle manner._

" _Oh my, are we interrupting?"_

 _Sakura' s eyes widened and she immediately pulled away, realising how they appeared to the party behind them and also realising that a member of that said party was Hakuyuu's mother!_

' _Holy crap!'_

 _Spinning on her heel so fast she nearly fell over, Sakura flushed red, tugging at her clothes and wishing she had Kouen's 'tacky' robe._

 _There were two other odd figures on either side of Gyokuen-males with turbans on their heads, cloths covering their faces wearing black robes; there was an odd and disturbing flutter coming from them but of course Sakura was more focused on Gyokuen. So much so that she didn't really take note or caution._

" _Um-y-your highness this is-eh-ah…" Sakura couldn't even get the words out of her mouth; she did better facing a hundred enemy ninja than explaining this situation._

" _ **My king please do not disgrace yourself!" Beleth called**_

 _ **Gaap snickered "Yes my king do not lose face li-**_

' _GAAP SHUT UP' Sakura mentally growled; she was met with silence._

 _Gyokuen was smiling and she appeared very amused; Sakura concluded it was either by the situation she walked in on or the fact that she 'interrupted'-parents seemed to have a habit in finding joy in embarrassing their children._

 _And as a bonus she managed to capture Sakura in the web of surprise and humiliation._

" _Oh Hakuyuu, I didn't know you stole Kouen's little dove from her cage."_

 _Sakura couldn't help covering her face, even the night's air couldn't pierce through the scorching heat that came with embarrassment._

" _Mother please," Hakuyuu moved in front of Sakura "You are making her uncomfortable."_

" _Well I don't see why she would be embarrassed about you courting her Hakuyuu unless of course this is something scandalous-_

" _Of course not; it is just as you said."_

 _Sakura stared at Hakuyuu with wide eyes 'What the hell is he doing?'_

 _Then one of the men spoke, he moved slightly to peer behind Hakuyuu from his distance "Oh, so this is the one you have been telling us about Lady Gyokuen?"_

 _Sakura frowned, she couldn't help but wonder who this person was that he was able to address the Kou empress so 'informally' and why exactly Gyokuen was speaking about her to them._

' _And what she has told them.'_

 _Sakura's concern reverted back to her current predicament. "Eh; you're highness I was just-_

" _We were just taking a stroll through the gardens as we do on some nights." Hakuyuu cut Sakura off causing him to receive a deadly glare from Sakura, communicating a lot of unspoken threats of pain yet he did not seem to heed it for he did not stop._

" _With all due respect my prince," said one of the mysterious men "Why not publicise this relationship."_

" _My lady does not wish for the inevitable slander and questioning she will receive due to her social standing."_

 _Gyokuen let out a small laugh and shook her head "Oh what nonsense, proceeding your courtship in such a manner will only encourage nastier rumours-like the ones when you were both seen behaving intimately in the courtyard a few days ago."_

 _A scream bubbled up in Sakura's throat and she had to choke it back. The palace walls had so many unseen eyes and ears it was hard even for Sakura to keep track especially when she was so focused on her verbal battle with Hakuyuu._

 _The shock and embarrassment seemed to have paralysed Sakura entirely because she was not able to process when Hakuyuu took her hand and pulled her beside him._

" _Then perhaps it's time to put these rumours to rest."_

 _Gyokuen clapped her hands twice, a flicker of excitement on her face. "Excellent. Then you shall court her openly with no shame."_

' _Kill-me-now.'_

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" _WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"_

" _Miss Haruno, I suggest you keep your voice down." Hakuyuu said as he closed her room's door._

 _After their episode outside Hakuyuu had managed to drag Sakura away from Gyokuen and the two men before any questions could be asked-questions she undoubtedly wouldn't be able to answer._

 _Sakura hissed, her voice lowered "Why would you tell your mother you were courting me?"_

 _Hakuyuu folded his arms, his voice maintaining a neutral tone "Would you rather I tell her we were there because you came to falsely accuse me of threatening you?"_

 _She stomped towards the prince, her footsteps swift until she was close enough to grab his robe "You still won't admit to sending me that note?"_

 _Hakuyuu narrowed his eyes "I do not take likely to being called a liar Haruno, so I will say it one more time. I did not send that note."_

 _There was a fluttering around Hakuyuu; one Sakura did not see before, being blinded by anger and frustration but now that she was really looking she could see and she knew then that he was telling the truth all along._

 _Carefully Sakura released him "You didn't do it."_

 _Hakuyuu's frown hardened "It seems you've finally realised. As for what I said earlier; that was the most believable excuse that would draw less suspicions."_

 _Sakura took a deep breath, her forehead creased as she rubbed her temples "So now what? I'm going to have to pretend you're courting me?"_

" _Precisely."_

 _There was a small snicker that came out of Sakura's mouth but she was trying to hold back so she snorted a little. "I'm sorry, I think I just had a mini stroke and misheard you. Could you repeat that?"_

" _As long as you remain in Kou Miss Haruno, consider me your suitor." Hakuyuu turned around and made his way towards her door._

' _That's it I'm going to kill him.' Sakura reached for Gaap's metal vessel when her djinns voices chimed in her head all at once._

" _ **Wait my king!" Stolas yelled "This is not the way-**_

' _Don't care.'_

" _ **Violence is not the answer-**_

' _It is my answer' Sakura said readying her weapon_

" _ **YOU WILL LEAVE TOO MUCH EVIDENCE." Cried Stolas**_

" _ **Ignore them my king do it!" Gaap laughed**_

 _Before his hands touched the handle Hakuyuu glanced behind him again causing Sakura to swiftly stop her movements "Oh and one more thing; I highly recommend you don't tell anyone the truth about this or you'll find the trust you've gained from those around you dissipate before your eyes."_

* * *

That was a few days ago and since then rumours about Sakura had been bouncing off the walls, people would stop to look at her, she was guessing it was mostly out of curiosity though some of the maids would give her dirty looks-of course whenever she caught them looking at her like that she would always send them a look so terrifying they'd run away and those who attempted to stand their grounds, she'd use Beleth to send a dark flame in the shame of a mini dragon to chase them around while she laughed-it was a bit sadistic but Sakura believed her actions to be justified. Other than that, nothing really changed for her in the palace. She would still go to play with Kougyoku, Hakuren and Hakuryuu and Hakuren; she and Koumei would sit in his room reading scrolls and talk about whatever came to mind, Sakura didn't see much of Kouen since his recovery but they began their sparring sessions after her sword lessons with Mahir. After training Kouha she would manage to squeeze in one hour to spar with Hakuren. With his constant grin and bright personality, he made her see a lot of Naruto in him.

The clashing of metal rang throughout the courtyard along with soft panting of Hakuren and Sakura-both sparring with spears in their hands, Hakuren's technique far surpassed Sakura's but he was not unable to overcome the difference in strength which set him back from overpowering her.

"Are you not tired yet Lady Haruno?" Hakuren said, his voice mocking yet slightly strained as he held his spear diagonally to block the pinkette's attacks.

Sakura smiled pushing forward and watching Hakuren's face scrunched in discomfort as he attempted to hold her back "I could say the same to you prince Hakuren, perhaps you would like a little rest?"

With that she gave a particularly powerful shove that sent Hakuren stumbling to the back and landing on the grass with a loud 'oof'.

"Looks like this round goes to me," Sakura said, a swell of pride filling her as she stuck the blade of the spear into the ground. After Sakura went over to Hakuren and sat down beside him, looking at his face-at his sheepish grin; Sakura felt a sense of nostalgia hit her.

"I thought you said you weren't going to use your strength?"

"And I thought you said you wouldn't call me Lady Haruno anymore," Sakura pointed

"Well since my brother is courting you, wouldn't it be more appropriate?"

Sakura could hear the sarcasm in his voice and knew he had not meant for her to take it seriously but even so, the words themselves held more meaning than his intensions.

Exhaling with exhaustion Sakura turned her head away from the prince "Perhaps if I had a title to my name but since I don't, Sakura works just fine."

Hakuren nodded, though he seemed dampened by the pinkette change in mood. This would happen anytime he brought up his brother and Hakuren couldn't help wondering about it although he chose not to bring it up with Sakura or Hakuyuu.

"I have to admit though, I was surprised to hear about you and my brother's relationship. I had never seen the two of you interact until a few days ago."

Sakura just shrugged but she did not turn to look Hakuren in his eyes "We agreed to remain scarce in our….intimate relations."

That was the exact same line Sakura had used on Koumei and Mahir when they asked about it; she was repeating it so much it was becoming a mantra, despite saying it so many times, like the line from a script, it had no meaning. It was lie she was tired of telling but it never stopped and three was always someone else waiting to ask her. It was more awkward when she had to reply to the young children of the Kou palace, apparently word spread all over; Kouha and Kougyoku had similar reactions, but it always retrained back to their own brother, apparently they believed Sakura had some kind of relationship with Kouen-to which she quickly corrected them. The only one who hadn't mentioned her sudden change in relationship status was Kouen-which Sakura was grateful for but at the same time it made her anxious every time she was with Kouen simply because he never brought it up. It was like he knew he was putting her through some painful suspense.

"My brother told me something similar but I can't help thinking there's something else the two of you aren't telling everyone."  
Sakura tensed, clenching her teeth with a nervous strain.

"I mean when he first saw you, he told me your pink hair looked idiotic."

Sakura had to squeeze her hands into fists to avoid losing her temper.

"And he would ask Kouen questions about you,"

Now Sakura's interest was piqued "He asked about me?"

"Since you arrived."

Unfortunately Sakura wasn't able to ask any more because another voice interrupted.

"Excuse me,"

Hakuren looked to the side where he saw someone emerging from the veranda "Ah, Koumei how's it going?"

Koumei gave a respectful bow to his cousin "Lord Hakuren, I am sorry to interrupt but my brother requests Miss Haruno, he apologises."

Hakuren waves his hand casually "That's alright, we were finished anyway."

Sakura stood up, dusting off her shorts "That was a good sparring session prince Hakuren, perhaps next time you'll manage to finally knock me down."

As she turned to walk away she heard Hakuren laugh "I look forward to it Sakura."

* * *

"Okay and the reason you interrupted my sparring session is?" Sakura asked looking at Kouen, arms crossed.

When Kouen didn't reply or seem to acknowledge Sakura's presence since she entered his study. He continued to read over a scroll in front of him. Sakura huffed, annoyance evident on her face.

"Well if you're going to continue to ignore me, I'm leaving."

Just as Sakura turned on her heel Kouen's voice ran through the room. "Sakura."

There was a bit of an internal debate whether or not to listen to him but she chose to turn back and walked in front of Kouen's desk.

"Well?"

"I am leaving."

Those simple words gave Sakura a rush of overwhelming emotions; all too familiar that's she nearly mistook her situation for another.

"W-Wait a minute what do you mean you're leaving? Where? Why?"

Kouen's eyebrows raised slightly, his eyes shinned with amusement and-satisfaction? "One of the forts to the West has stopped sending in weekly reports."

Sakura understood immediately "Oh, I get it! You're going to check up on the fort."

Even though Kouen didn't respond Sakura wasn't deterred because he had no need to explain further to her. Then a thought came to Sakura.

"Can I go with you?"

Sakura did her best to be as blunt as possible with her question; she needed to get out of the palace for a little while and away from her 'suitor'; even just for a little while.

Kouen looked at her, asking for an explanation without words.

"Well, if it's something serious I think I might be able to help." Sakura attempted to justify

Kouen just kept starring at her and Sakura knew immediately that he was not falling for her excuse, he wouldn't question her on why she was making it up but he wasn't going to let her go with him either.

Sakura sighed, her shoulders slumped "I get it; no go. Well if that's all you have to say-

"It is"

"Well then I'll just be going…" Sakura turned around when she heard Kouen's chair shift, and saw him move around his desk; passed her and then stopped right as he reached the door, gesturing with his head for her to follow before exiting with Sakura a few steps behind.

'Guess we're going for a walk.' It was a pass time she and Kouen had gotten into doing, along with sitting in the gardens together having tea or they'd play games that were intellectually stimulating. Both Sakura and Kouen enjoyed that because it was always a wonder as to who was going to win. It was frustrating and exciting. They had even started keeping score.

* * *

"And I'm guessing the reason for this is you want to break our tie?" Sakura asked looking over the pavilion, a distance from the main buildings in the palace, there were no staff around to peer at them from around corners and chances of anyone finding them were slim. There was a low table set with a few fruits and sweets and two cups with a pot of tea, in the middle was a board set and on either side a bowl of black stones and white stones. It was the game Go.

" _My king did he take you all the way here just to play a game?" asked Gaap in disbelief_

'So it appears,' Sakura shrugged a little but walked over to the table without looking for Kouen's consent.

He sat on the opposite side of her, taking one of the black stones from the bowel and placing it on an intersection on the board. Sakura then took one of her stones and placed it down. This went on for several moments in silence, at first their moves appeared random; uncoordinated but they both knew that was far from what was seen. Each had taken out two of the four corners and were now trying to escape one another.

Sakura found herself becoming focused on the game, so much that she chose to speak first as she captured a few of Kouen's stones "Kouen,"

"What is it?" he seemed a bit frustrated that she had already captured a few of his stones.

"What exactly is going on in this place?"

Kouen narrowed his eyes, placing another stone on the board, trying to maintain focus. "You're not being specific."

Sakura didn't know if she would be able to specify; what was going on in the palace concerning his family, his cousins and their mother, her relationship with everyone from Kouen and his siblings to Hakuyuu and his siblings. There was also the matter of Gyokuen as well she wanted to ask him about.

"Do I need to be?" Sakura asked, her voice blunt yet sharp enough to cut through the tension.

"If you expect me to reply."

Sakura threw her head back with an over exaggerated sigh but there was a light-heartedness to her posture and tone.

"Never mind, it was just a random thought." Sakura returned to the game, deciding she did not want to cause in tension. Especially when it could turn into something much more.

"You don't have random thoughts Sakura." Kouen pointed out boldly "You're too intelligent for those."

Sakura laughed softly "That is literally the first compliment you've ever given me."

"Of course you're also exceptionally dense at times."

Sakura frowned, gently placing another stone on the board "What does that mean?"

"Have I ever been ambiguous?"

Sakura immediately shook her head; there was no need for her to consider because Kouen had always been bluntly and at times painfully candid with her. A large difference Sakura saw in comparison with Sinbad who she would always have to analyse and decode. It was a frustrating process at times; and it had occurred to Sakura that it must be the reason she was a little less wary of Kouen because she didn't always have to question his motives.

"Not that I can recall." Sakura admitted.

"Then I needn't say any more."

Her eyes travelled from the game board, to Kouen's face and then to his metal vessel-something clicked.

"Hey Kouen," Sakura began, she waited until he looked up at her before continuing but when he did she felt as if her words caught in her throat, she still forced them out. "Can I see your djinn?"

He stared at her, his expression completely blank but she saw the glimmer of curiosity in his persona.

"I….." she gestured to the Looking glass around her neck "I need to check if it has a shard for the mirror."

"Very well,"

Sakura smiled, ready to stand up and also thank Kouen when he spoke again.

"If you can beat me."

" _Should have seen that coming," Gaap said_

Sakura frowned but nodded with a slight pout "Alright and what do you get if you win?"

When it came to Kouen, Sakura had learned it was better to play it safe because even though he wasn't as unorthodox as Sinbad, he could be very cunning if you were not careful.

Kouen appeared amused by her question "You'll have to lose if you want the answer."

Emerald green eyes narrowed, Sakura made her move, capturing two of Kouen's stones "I think I can live without knowing."

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The game lasted longer than either opponent anticipated, there was a sense of seriousness surrounding Kouen and Sakura as they played. Both wanting to outdo the other, both wanting win. However when the game reached its climax realisation hit them both as they stared at the board.

Sakura's cheeks hurt, her lips stretched out across her face in a wide grin as she added up the scores in her mind. No matter how many times she did it, the results were clear.

"I win."

"So it seems," Kouen replied

With a soft giggle Sakura stood up from her position and went around the table until she was next to Kouen, holding the Looking glass towards him.

"So I have permission?" she had to ask

"Yes."

Leaning down slightly until the mirror came in contact with the metal vessel Sakura waited for something to happen, the eight pointed start began to shine but then it vanished and Sakura saw nothing-there was no added shard to the looking glass.

"W-What?"

" _My king, only the magi who summoned the djinns dungeon will have a shard." Stolas told her_

'Oh yeah,' Sakura realised pulling away, soft disappointment in her face.

"You look rather deterred." Kouen stated

That seemed to break Sakura from her space, she quickly shook her head in denial "Oh sorry,"

"What went wrong?"

Taking a few steps back Sakura placed her hands behind her back "Nothing, I can only collect shards from certain djinns."

"Certain in what way?"

There was a moment of hesitance from Sakura but she chose to tell Kouen "Um, I can only get the shards from djinns whose dungeons were summoned by its owner."

"In other words, the djinns with the shards will be the djinns summoned by the magi who owns that mirror." Kouen concluded rather quickly

Sakura wasn't surprised though by his quick and accurate analysis "Yes."

Being at a closer proximity to Kouen in the daylight Sakura realised that the prince seemed rather off, she saw how his eyes gave a shadow of a flutter; resisting squinting. Without thought Sakura stepped forward, examining Kouen's face.

"Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you're squinting suggesting sensitivity to light and there are rings under your eyes, you also look slightly paled….how didn't I notice?" Sakura continued to mutter and examine Kouen.

"I do not feel tired." Kouen replied leaning back in his chair.

Sakura scoffed, reaching forward she grasped Kouen's wrist and pulled him up with little effort as he didn't put up much of a fight though he was obviously a little surprised by her actions. Leading them away from the veranda, onto the grass and under a royal Poinciana tree. Sakura smile, looking at the red flowers that decorated the tree, it was rather fitting.

Once they reached the tree, Sakura gestured for Kouen to sit down, he didn't question her but he still appeared a bit annoyed-not that Sakura seemed to care. After he sat, Sakura mimicked him, placing herself in front of the prince crossed legged.

"Alright, now close your eyes and count to sixty, slowly."

"There is no point."

Sakura frowned but somehow held herself back from any outbursts that would lead her further from her objective, she grasped Kouen's wrist again.

"I'm just going to take your pulse, so please close your eyes."

"This seems-

"Just close your eyes!"

So much for holding back, even so Sakura let out a relieved sigh when Kouen shut his eyes. Even then she could see the severity in his face and couldn't hold back a snicker.

"You find something amusing?"

Sakura was about to shake her head when she realised his eyes were still closed "No, now start counting slowly until sixty."

The kunoichi swore she saw him roll his eyes behind his eyelids but then he started counting and she forgot.

"One…two…..three….four…five…..six…."

Sakura held Kouen's wrist firmly, her djinns voices interrupting her train of thought before she could see it.

" _Well this is a surprise." Stated Gaap_

'How so?'

" _If I recall correctly, he wasn't this cooperative when you were tending to him before." Gaap pointed_

Sakura couldn't disagree even if she wanted to, she recalled all those healing sessions where Kouen continuously insisted on his relief from bed but every time he was denied.

" _That banter reminded me of a married couple," commented Stolas_

Sakura rolled her eyes 'You mean the kind of married couple who have been together for a really long time and are plotting their spouses 'accidental' deaths?'

" _Precisely,'_

" _That is obscured," Beleth said_

" _I wouldn't be so sure, that does tend to happen." Gaap told them_

" _Yes, but the ones truly meant for each other make it," said Stolas "Of course there is usually more conflict."_

 _Gaap laughed "That's love! When you have the tolerance to remain with a person whose flaws you passionately despise."_

Sakura shook her head, how this conversation came to be she didn't care but she wanted it to end.

'You think so?' Sakura asked in thought 'I mean, I've loved this guy since before I was twelve and he pretty much ignored my existence even though we were on the same team together.' Sakura looked at her hand holding Kouen's wrist and then she saw, his eyes closed, breathing now shallow, still sitting up-Kouen had fallen asleep.

"Just like a I thought," Sakura said, holding Kouen's shoulders she carefully laid him down, stretching out her legs and placing his head on her thighs. "Idiot was exhausted, no wonder I finally beat him at go."

 _Beleth interrupted "Forgive me my king, but we were talking about your love interest?"_

Sakura chuckled softly so as not to shake and wake Kouen 'I didn't think you of all would bring back the topic Beleth."

" _Curiosity my king,"_

'Well like I said, I claimed to be in love with him. Of course I was rather narrow minded in my pursuit, finding content in nothing but his looks and I desperately wanted to impress him but no matter how hard I tried he never seemed to acknowledge me-he was focused on his own goals. One night when I attempted to stop him from leaving to achieve it and confessed to him, he bitterly rejected me and left me lying outside on a bench." Sakura paused exhale slowly "I don't blame him though. It's hard when you come this far and look back at who you once were."

" _My king, how could you possibly believe you love a man who has done something like that?" asked Stolas_

'Because Stolas, even though he is walking a path of darkness, I want to do everything in my power to bring him back to the light-even if he grows to hate me for it. I am also extremely grateful to him for making me grow stronger by showing me how my weakness had affected others.'

The voices in her head stilled and Sakura felt so much tension, she felt like her head was being filled.

'Anyone in there?'

" _I'm not the only one who thinks our king is a lot like Sheba right," Gaap said offhandedly_

 _Beleth and Stolas were quick to silence him "GAAP."_

" _What?"_

'Sheba? Who is that?'

Her djinns went silent again 'Really?' Sakura asked, disbelief laced her voice

" _My king forgive us but we-_

'Are not at liberty to tell me, I know,' Sakura sighed again and looked back down at Kouen and shook her head 'Kouen and Sinbad are really going to have trouble finding love.'

" _Why do you say that my king?"_ asked Beleth _"Neither are difficult to look at."_

Sakura's hand ghosted over Kouen's forehead "They both have such difficult personas despite their appearance and finding someone who genuinely loves them for who they are and can actually see their flaws and still choose to be with them not to mention they are both kind of on the controlling side- I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it."

Sakura wasn't actually joking when she said she was getting tired, she decided to rest her eyes, head leaning back against the tree.

" _But my king, you've certainly been able to cope with both Sinbad and this prince." Beleth stated_

 _Gaap snickered "Doesn't that mean our king is-_

" _Asleep." Stolas said_

Sakura's breathing had become shallow, her chest rising and falling, the wing gently blew a few strands of her hair out of place but because of its length it did not tickle her skin. There in the palace gardens, under the Poinciana tree, red flower petals scattering around, Sakura and Kouen slept. Unguarded and unaware their peaceful slumber was under watch.

* * *

Gyokuen looked at the pair from around the corner of the veranda, lifting her covered arm up to her mouth hiding her smile "Well isn't this a problem? Seems I have to move things along."

* * *

'I am really getting tired of being in this dilemma.' Sakura thought as she stared at her plate and then at the table where several dishes were placed neatly, still piping hot and decorated deliciously but Sakura as usually did not have much of an appetite. On the other side of the table sat Hakuyuu, eating dinner with a casual persona.

"I see you've managed to escape the maids again," he said

She knew he was referring to her state of dress, every evening the maids would come to get her ready for dinner and every evening Sakura would already be gone because she refused to dress up-she was already putting on an act, she was not about to add a costume to further sully her dignity.

"I did prince Hakuyuu, though I have to give you credit for sending them a few minutes earlier, they nearly caught me jumping out the window." Sakura answered in a cold laced tone. "Need I remind you; I am not some doll you can dress up."

"And need I remind you Haruno, I do not do this to offend you but because it is necessary."

Sakura frowned deeply "I don't see why it is necessary to-

" _Really we're going to have to listen to this again?" asked Gaap_

" _Just let it go Gaap," said Beleth_

" _But it's the same thing every night!"_

'Will you all please be quiet, I can't argue with him and listen to you three at the same time!'

"Before you start arguing," Hakuyuu interrupted Sakura's thoughts "Mahir will no longer be training you in swordplay."

Sakura narrowed her eyes in disdain, she actually enjoyed those lessons and she needed them to teach Kouha "Why?"

"Mahir will be accompany Kouen to the fort, I assume my cousin has informed you?"

"He did," she replied, not bothering to hide the look of suspicion on her face. "He told me today,"

"During you game of go."

Silence filled the room for only few seconds but in that brief period of time it felt as though the tension had built tend fold.

"You knew about that?"

"My mother informed me." Hakuyuu said

"I see…" Sakura returned to her dinner, taking her chopsticks to pick up a piece of succulent meat and quickly placing it in her mouth.

"And I happened to come across Kouen carrying you back to your room."

Sakura felt the incomplete bolas push down her throat with struggle, she quickly reached for her water and took a big gulp, she coughed heavily before looking back at Hakuyuu for explanation. When Sakura had woken up from her nap in the gardens she was back in bed, she assumed that Kouen had sent someone to place her there but she didn't think he brought her to her room himself-and that Hakuyuu had caught him.

" _Such implications…." Stolas observed_

"After the game, I noticed that Kouen seemed tired so-

"There is no need to explain yourself, Kouen already gave me the details." Hakuyuu interjected holding up his hand "Of course he wasn't' nearly as flustered."

Sakura looked down, relieved she returned to eating "Alright then; I suppose I no longer have a swordplay teacher."

"Not necessarily."

"Huh?"

"I will be teaching you from now on."

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"Hell no."

* * *

The following morning Sakura didn't go to see Kouen off, she didn't go the regular courtyard for training and she didn't meet Hakuren that day because she didn't want to run into Hakuyuu. Instead she spent her entire day playing with Kougyoku, training Kouha and lazing around with Koumei and every time she heard guards coming her way she would disappear and request each of the siblings to say they haven't seen her. Going incognito was not something Sakura was unfamiliar with but she knew as long as she was in this palace she would not be able to do this forever.

'All of this just to avoid that prince,' Sakura sighed, fiddling with the tips of her hair.

" _Perhaps it is time to consider taking our leave my king," Beleth suggested_

'Believe me Beleth, I want to.'

" _But?"_

Kougyoku and Kouha's faces flashed through her mind, then Koumei and Kouen, then Hakuren, Hakuei, Hakuryuu and finally Hakuyuu.

'Dammit,'

"I think I see her!"

"Over there!"

The sounds of footsteps with clanking metal and alert voices dispersed Sakura's thoughts as she sped up, making her way through the palace halls till she was outside once again. She knew instantly after looking around at the rock gardens that she had not been to this part of the palace before. The footsteps were becoming louder and more urgent with every passing moment.

" _What now my king?" asked Beleth_

Despite being here more than a month Sakura found that there would always be new places to discover and right now what Sakura was spotting was a large building made of glass transparent but not quite do to all the different plants she could see.

'That'll do.' She thought before running at top speed, barely taking a few seconds before she was at the entrance of the greenhouse.

Opening and closing the door, Sakura watched from the outside as the guards ran around looking for her but eventually their search lead them down another hallway, of the gardens, out of Sakura's sight and further from their target. Being on constant guard was not an unfamiliar dilemma but it didn't mean it didn't cause discomfort, knowing that she would have some time to move away from that, relief filled her. She started walking through the greenhouse, the difference fragrances of herbs and plants mingled together in the air, some were stronger than others but Sakura could just about catch a whiff of everything and even identify some (a skill that came from studying herbs for her medical training). To say the greenhouse was huge would be an understatement because there was even a second floor.

'I could stay here forever.'

" _Please don't," her djinns begged_

Sakura spread out her arms "Ah, this is so nice."

Then she heard the fluttering, pausing her previous actions Sakura began taking ghosted footsteps towards the fluttering, however the fluttering seemed to be getting closer to her. Around the next corner Sakura saw a flash of white and took a quick step back to avoid falling.

"Oh so there was someone else here."

Sakura gasped when she looked up, at first she thought Hakuyuu had found her but when she got a closer look at the features of the figure now in front of her she realised that this man appeared more matured with the same features as Hakuyuu, Hakuren and Hakuyuu only much sharper, long blue hair slightly dark and blue eyes that were even sharper than Hakuyuu's, of course she realised right away who this person was.

And upon realising Sakura quickly gave an appropriate bow and held her position "Emperor Hakutoku, forgive me for intruding. My name is Sakura Haruno."

"Ah, your hair, that explains why I thought I saw something pink moving amongst the flowers," he mused "And I am well aware who you are; news of you has not stopped since you've arrived, every member of my family has had something to inform."

'I hope in little detail.' Sakura though wincing as she stood up straight.

"Tell me Lady Haruno what brings you to the green house?"

Sakura spoke clearly, arms at her side "Forgive me your highness, I was just admiring and if it pleases, Sakura is just fine. I am no lady."

Hakutoku's appearance softened slightly as he towered over Sakura "Very well then Sakura, however considering my son is actively courting you, I'd withdraw that last statement of not being a lady."

'Well shit.'

 _Gaap snickered "Say that out loud my king, I'm sure he will withdraw his statement then.'_

Ignoring her djinns comments Sakura continued to focus on the man in front of her. "Of course your highness, I meant no offense."

"And you've given none."

Hakutoku stepped forward until he was side by side with Sakura "Would you care to join me of a tour of the green house then Sakura. I have been wanting to speak with you for a while."

"I would be honoured," Sakura answered feeling her hands beginning to sweat under her gloves.

As they began strolling through the greenhouse Sakura's eyes were darting around at all of the different plants, partly out of fascination and partly to avoid meeting the emperors gaze. She took the time to identify the plant life around her.

" _This is certainly an uncomfortable situation."_

Sakura stiffened at hearing Gaap's voice and then Beleth's as well.

" _Shh, Gaap; I think our king feels awkward enough without you pointing it out."_

" _Who's talking about out king-even I feel out of sorts!"_

Hand to her mouth Sakura stifled her laughter and then it died down when she heard Hakutoku speak.

"Do you enjoy flowers Sakura?"

The pinkette appeared a bit stunned, so much so that she took a few seconds longer to reply "Of course I do."

"And what is it that you like about them; their appearance or fragrance?"

Sakura shrugged, her eyes looking up at the glass roof "Both but more so than anything, what I like about flowers and different plants and herbs are their properties; that might just come with being a medic and studying plants from that perspective."

"That is an interesting response," Hakutoku seemed intrigued now and Sakura heard an odd fluttering again but it was gone when she looked. "I hear that you were a traveller."

"I am, your highness." Sakura said pressing to make sure the emperor understood she was still a traveller.

Hakutoku nodded "I have also heard that you were a physician and a very gifted on at that. You were the one who saw to my nephew Kouen's recovery after your fierce battle."

There was no possible way for Sakura to mask her face, of course the emperor would know about that. Sakura's mouth was opening and closing as the kunoichi flustered about how to reply but Hakutoku beat her to it.

"I was rather impressed."

"Wha-?"

"As I said before I have been hearing a lot about you Sakura," Hakutoku stopped walking and turned to face her "Kouen's told me you have captured multiple dungeons."

"I have your highness, four to be exact." Sakura said with wary tone although she regretted admitting to how many djinn she had captured for some reason.

Hakutoku's eyes widened slightly "Dungeons are fierce places where hundreds of men have entered and failed to return, to hear that you alone have gone into various dungeons and succeeded not only in surviving but gained the power of the djinns…..I am in awe."

Sakura flushed a little "Thank you…"

"And my wife tells me that you are not only skilled with various weapons skills but also martial arts, you are also said to be intelligent."

Sakura couldn't help but feel that Gyokuen was trying to sell her for some reason, the way she was being described, Sakura didn't feel like that was her at all; perhaps it was her own self-doubt because she did defeat Kouen and she did heal him, she wasn't stupid either but even the best of people do not always believe in their own worth.

" _But that is what makes them the best my king," said Stolas_

"So the reason your highness wanted to meet me is because of everything you've been hearing."

"Yes, of course my attention was already grasped when Kouen told me you were also a dungeon capture and even more so after you defeated him."

Hakutoku appeared as if he was about to say more but Sakura stopped him by stepping in front of him and bowing her head.

"With all due respect your highness I do not enjoy speaking of that time; I take no pride in what I did to your nephew, all that destruction and chaos was my own doing because I had lost control of myself and allowed my anger to get the best of me. As for what you have heard of me, I am honoured that you have been informed so highly of me but there is far more to me than my skills, intelligence and perceived power. I am someone with too many shortcomings and flaws, I am merely doing everything in my power to ensure that I do set back those who put their faith in me."

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The greenhouse fell silent, Sakura finally glanced up from her position to see Hakutoku watching her, his expression revealing very little but Sakura saw the oddest change of fluttering from the rukh and what she could identify as admiration and…certainty?

'For what exactly?'

Hakutoku started walking towards the exit, Sakura watched him, his aura of power even as his back was turned; he appeared untouchable.

"Sakura Haruno, you've surpassed my expectations."

Just as he opened the door, Hakutoku's eyes seemed to scan around before he looked back at Sakura "Oh yes, I will be informing Hakuyuu of your current location. I've heard he has been searching for you anxiously do give him a good chase."

With that he left.

" _My king?"_

"What the hell just happened?"

* * *

"Your feet are still too close together, that makes for sluggish counters."

"Unlike you prince Hakuyuu I'm not six feet so forgive me if I find more comfort in a less outstretched position!"

After that single day of running and hiding, Sakura eventually revealed herself to Hakuyuu who did not appear amused by her antics. For the sake of a glimmer of peace between them Sakura agreed to Hakuyuu teaching her but he did not hold back on her compliance for fear she would withdraw. He was an even stricter teacher than Mahir, practically taking Sakura back to the basics she had learned over a month ago.

Sakura thrust her sword forward with a powerful shove, watching as it glided through the air with ease.

"You're relying too much on that abnormal strength of yours,"

"I am not!" Sakura retorted stomping her foot on the ground creating a small crater causing her to defeat any chance of arguing.

Hakuyuu started circling around Sakura before spouting instructions. "Again, head up, shoulders back, right foot forward-no not that forward,"

Holding up his own sword which was real since Hakuyuu said it was better to work with a real sword he gestured with his head for Sakura to come at him and in her slightly ill-tempered stated she did so without hesitance, pushing back on the sole of her foot to leap forward, their swords clashed creating sparks. There was no hesitance in the attacks between the two and from a distance for anyone it would look like a real battle. Their eyes narrowed with concentration and determination to win.

Hakuyuu's eyes didn't trail unlike Sakura whose eyes were darting around trying to determine where his next strike would come from. They clashed several times but Hakuyuu's strikes started becoming much more swift and aggressive that it surprised Sakura, forcing her to step back and she continued until she felt something hit her back and realised she had no more space to move, Hakuyuu held his sword at her throat before removing it.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings."

Sakura exhaled and pushed away from the tree.

"We're going again, get ready."

There was no doubt that Hakuyuu was serious because he was already in position, this time he didn't even give Sakura a chance to get into position before he attacked. Sakura quickly held up her sword to block him but stumbled back. The next few strikes that followed had a similar result, Hakuyuu knocking Sakura back.

'Not this time,'

Hakuyuu crouched down to swing his sword upward at Sakura when she jumped back, swinging her legs so that her entire body was in the air before landing on her feet, regaining her equilibrium before pushing forward quickly, catching Hakuyuu off guard as she pretended to swing left only to spine around completely and hit his right, except she was expecting Hakuyuu to be able to counter before her sword came into contact with his skin but that was not the case. Sakura dropped her sword that now had a red stain and went over to Hakuyuu who was crouching down holding a hand to his bleeding side.

"Ah crap, move your hand." Sakura said removing his hand to inspect his wound before placing her own over it and pouring chakra out.

"I should have kept my arm there, you cut deep." Hakuyuu said as he watched Sakura treat his wound, he could actually feel his torn flesh repair itself and the wound growing smaller, suppose this was what you felt when you healed at such an alarming rate. He had seen her abilities before when she was treating Kouen but he had a whole new perspective of her ability now that he was the one she was using it on.

'It's warm.'

"There," Sakura said removing her hand only for a few seconds before softly trailing her fingers along the torn line of fabric. "You don't feel any pain right?"

"No," Hakuyuu replied, watching Sakura somewhat entranced before she removed her hand and standing up, leaving the cold wind to hit his skin.

"It really is impressive." Hakuyuu observed looking down at his torn robe and then to Sakura's hand "Hands with the strength to destroy with great ease and fix what they break with equal effort. It must give reason to make you feel at liberty to act with little restraint

Sakura frowned, knowing exactly what Hakuyuu was implying "If you're saying that I act reckless because I've developed some kind of idea that whatever I destroy will be fixed you're wrong."

Emerald clashed with blue as Hakuyuu looked at Sakura with what she saw as true anger "That didn't seem to be the case when you fought Kouen. You attacked him without concern or consideration of consequence."

There was an eerie silence that fell over them as Hakuyuu and Sakura stared at one another and for a minute Hakuyuu thought he had rendered the pinkette speechless, filling her with over whelming emotions of well-deserved guilt and remorse but Sakura's brilliant green eyes seemed to harden, her voice just as well.

"I am a reckless person and I do have a temper but I would never hurt someone for no reason….I've always been conscious of my actions. It was just that with Kouen; he had set me off in a bad way, he thought to use force against me and believed that I wouldn't retaliate."

Sakura stepped forward and crouched down in front of Hakuyuu "Here's something you should know about me prince Hakuyuu. Those who pin me down, will need to keep a constant and tight grasp on my neck because the instant I feel their grip loosen I will break free. I can be extremely stubborn and determined so one way or another I will always overcome anything that sets to put itself between me and my goals."

"You must obviously care very much for your goals." Hakuyuu told her in a blank tone.

"Only because it is not just for me," she replied in an equally dull voice "Another thing you should know about me, I never behave recklessly with only myself in mind."

'Naruto, Sasuke….'

Sakura's face then began to soften, a smile that had Hakuyuu think for an instant he had been talking to a different person; a gentle look that complimented her features, before she appeared to have the face of a beautiful tough girl but it was in contrast to her physical appearance and from the corner of her eye a single tear fell. Hakuyuu's eyes widened, he could feel the quick yet hefty beatings of his heart.

Wiping her tear and picking up her sword and wiping the blood off on the grass Sakura looked back to Hakuyuu "Do you want to continue?"

"I didn't expect you to ask."

"Well considering I've finally landed a hit, I think I can start enjoying this."

There was a smile on Sakura's face that was too inviting to deny. Standing up Hakuyuu held out his sword.

During their few minutes of sparring, there was a rapid change in the atmosphere, Sakura saw it in the rukh around Hakuyuu as they sparred, a crack in the wall of tension between them.

* * *

It was always possible to lose track of time when one became too occupied, it was a rule that no one was impervious to and that included Sakura. The days that went by were beginning to give her a sense of normality, her comfort within the palace was increasing-and with those who lived there. She always had something to do with one of Kou's royal children, playing with Kougyoku, Hakuei and Hakuryuu, lazing about and reading with Koumei, sparring with Hakuren and she was even getting along with Hakuyuu-who seemed to be a bit off nowadays.

'This is exactly what happened the last time,' Sakura thought, starring at the top of the canopy, her hands folded across her chest as if she was a corpse.

" _What happened the last time?" asked Gaap_

" _Our king has been in a similar situation before where she had put her own mission on hold for the sake of others." Beleth explained_

" _And how long did it take before she returned to her own goal?"_

" _Five months."_

" _WHAT"_

"Enough," Sakura grunted "That's not going to happen again alright, as soon as Kouen gets back I'll leave."

She then prepared herself for what was to come-endless complaints, questions and teasing from her djinns.

" _Wait why are you waiting for that prince to return my king?" asked Stolas_

" _Because she most likely wants to give him a proper greeting." Beleth said_

"Exactly," Sakura replied nodding her head slightly "The last time I ran off without a word it didn't go so well."

" _Would anyone care to inform me?"_

 _Stolas chimed in, "Her previous companions caught her and she was chased around town-_

Sakura winced when she heard Gaap's laughter erupt in her mind, it was as if someone was hitting her inside her head.

"Okay, okay we don't need a flashback of haunting memories."

Sakura closes her eyes, Sinbad's face flashed through her mind, despite all the new people that had come into her life and all the old ones that were still connected to her deeply, she would always find a moment before the day was gone to think about Sinbad, it wasn't always long drawn out memories but flashes of his face or his eyes. Her anger for what he did had not dissipated with distance and time and she knew that it wasn't going to until they were face to face once again but then she would see him, with a collar around his neck and paranoid worry would consume her and linger.

'I really do need to see you,'

* * *

As Hakuyuu walked through the palace with a calm stride, his head held high and anyone who might have looked at him would say that was the face of a leader; however his brother Hakuren knew that something was wrong. Having come out of a meeting with their father, mother and the small council there was rarely any time he came out of there in a good mood and he was walking with an urgent intention.

Now walking beside his brother Hakuren dared to ask what had happened inside that room even though it was technically classified.

Hakuyuu's voice was gruff when he spoke "I can finally confirm our suspicions."

"What don't tell me that it's true!" Hakuren asked surprised but he knew what his brother was referring to.

"What do you think?" Hakuyuu snapped, fists clenched, his posture stiff "That rumour we heard, about her coaxing the council members, uncle and father to agree with her."

Hakuren's eyes widened, this had been something that they were discussing for over a month but they had agreed not to mention this until they believed there was actually something to worry about and right now it looked like there was.

"Oh she is not going to be happy."

"I know."

"But the question is…..how do you feel about this?"

"Princes!"

Hakuyuu and Hakuren stopped and glanced over their soldier to see one of their subordinates rushing towards them with urgent purpose, in his hand was a small piece of paper….

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"Oh, I'm afraid it's time for me to go now Kougyoku."

The little Kou princess pouted, her time with Sakura had been cut much shorter since she apparently had multiple places to be. At one point Sakura was even considering using the shadow clone jutsu but then decided rather not to. Her clones could only go a certain distance away from her anyway and the palace being so large was bound to provide that distance.

"Can't you stay a little longer?"

Laughing, Sakura gently tapped Kougyoku's nose "You know I can't do that, I have to go and see your brother now."

Kougyoku didn't complain any further, Sakura had told her that she had other obligations and that included her brother Kouha. They hugged and were about to part ways when a guard appeared behind the two.

Picking up Kougyoku Sakura turned around to face the guard "Yes can I help you?"

He bowed quickly before standing up straight "Lady Haruno, prince Hakuyuu has requested you."

Sakura felt like something was amiss, Hakuyuu didn't send for her during the day, their fake relationship status didn't change his current status as a prince, who had many assignments to attend to throughout the day. Yet now she was being escorted to his office for reasons the messenger himself was unaware of. It was suspicious and frustrating to think that Hakuyuu wanted to see her for no apparent reason she could think about.

" _Perhaps he misses you, my king.' Gaap said_

'I am not even going to entertain that notion Gaap.'

Around the next corner, Gyokuen appeared, her usual smile settled on her face. Sakura abruptly halted and bowed in respect.

"Your highness."

"Little dove, always a pleasure bumping into you."

Glancing at the boy beside Sakura, a swift wave of her hand and he bowed, greeted respectively and left without a second glance at Sakura which she found odd because he was supposed to be taking her to Hakuyuu-though she had an inkling that wasn't going to happen now.

"Um your highness, I'm supposed to be meeting prince Hakuyuu-

"I understand but I need to speak with you, it is quite urgent."

Gyokuen began leading Sakura in the opposite direction of the palace and it made her wonder if the empress was waiting for her at that very spot just to 'bump' into her but she quickly disposed of the idea.

* * *

'This is uncomfortably familiar.' Sakura thought as she looked around the large palace meeting hall. An uncomfortable bubbling had started in the pit of Sakura's stomach when she recognised the area Gyokuen had taken her, she recognised the hallway of pillars and the large, magnificent doors, instantly knowing where she had been taken and that bubbling increased when she stepped into the room she had only glimpsed into, her footsteps echoed against the floor.

"Your highness, why have you brought me here?"

Turning to face the pinkette Gyokuen stepped forward until she was right in front of Sakura, "I simply wanted to exchange pleasantries since we will be doing it more often."

Sakura couldn't mask the confusion that set on her face, furrowed pink eyebrows and creased forehead, disregarding her appearance she asked Gyokuen "What do you mean your highness?""

Gyokuen's face seemed to twist ever so slightly but enough to have a massive impact on Sakura, the discomfort she felt before now growing to something beyond that.

"You enjoy yourself at the palace don't you little dove?"

Uncertain of any other response Sakura nodded but she did not voice her answer.

"And you and Hakuyuu are close now right?"

Again Sakura nodded, knowing she couldn't give away their act.

"Then you wouldn't have a problem remaining by his side long term correct?"

Sakura's eyes went wide, her mouth turned downward at the disconcerting questions-especially the last one. There was an insinuation of something greater afoot.

"Forgive me your highness but I'm afraid I don't understand." Sakura's voice trembled a little and she wondered what had caused this sudden tension of nerves.

And then she found out why.

"Although you initially have no social status, the emperor has agreed to broker a marriage between you and Hakuyuu; isn't that wonderful?"

Have you ever had those moments where you were in such a state of shock that you became immobile despite wanting to run as fast and far as your feet could carry you, your voice clumped into a lump at the back of your throat disallowing you to scream as loud as you could that you broke everything that could be shattered, your ears were ringing even though there was nothing but silence around you? That was what happened to Sakura. She couldn't even listen to her djinn's cries of alarm and requests.

" _My king please!" Beleth cried_

" _Say something!" begged Stolas_

" _Don't turn mute now my king!" Gaap said, even he was not amused by the current situation._

"M-Marry, what?" Sakura stuttered, breathing through her mouth. Then she awakened from her initial shock to give her proper reply. "I can't get married!"

"Why not, little dove?" Gyokuen asked and Sakura bit her tongue to avoid voicing her sudden disdain for her nickname "Hakuyuu has been courting you, aside from that he had no objections to it during the meeting today."

'He knew about this?' Sakura felt a sick twisting knot forming in her stomach.

"With all due respect your highness, it is like you said before I am not of high social status, I have nothing to offer to-

"On contrary, my husband the emperor believes you have much to offer the Kou Empire as well as our legacy. Your skills, strength, unique abilities, maternal skills, all the time you've spent in the palace, you have created a reputation for yourself without realising."

'She can't be serious!'

Hand on her chest Sakura spoke in a tone that described desperation "Please your highness, surely you cannot be considering allowing a stranger into your family this easily! I am nothing more than a traveller, I do not belong anywhere."

Gyokuen appeared surprised, her eyes widened slightly, she placed her hand on her cheek and cocked an eyebrow, Sakura had rarely seen this women's expression change and it was a bit unsettling.

"Now don't tell me you haven't noticed? This has been debate for quite a while, I assumed Hakuyuu or Kouen; perhaps even Hakuren or Koumei informed you of this-although it was meant to be confidential until confirmation."

'THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS?' Sakura mentally screamed, the feelings that filled her were so complex she couldn't even place them therefore disallowing her from expressing them.

" _My king, calm down." Beleth said, his voice much more stable which in turn had the same effect on Sakura "Remember who you are. Do not lose face."_

As her djinns words settled in her mind, Sakura calmed herself, taking a deeper breath, eyes closed and then opening with shining determination and strength she spoke with a clear voice.

"You highness, I am flattered at the offer but I decline. Not only am I far too young for marriage but I have my own ideals of what I want for my life and what I want from this world. I am a simple girl with a simple goal and even though I may stray from my path time to time I will always find my way back to it; although this time I feel like I've strayed too far and in turn have created the impression I am willing to take another for that I am sorry."

With that said, Sakura bowed her head, eyes still holding strong as she looked at the ground-then she heard small footsteps and the points of two silk shoes in front of her.

Soft feather-like caresses trailed along Sakura's face, Gyokuen looked at her with and unwavering smile as she started murmuring in that same sickly sweet voice.

"You really are quite interesting, to believe that you can still find your path and abandon those you have set on with the other. Tell me little dove can you really do that? Can you really abandon all those who are coming to love you?"

Sakura's eyes widened and her head shot up to stare at Gyokuen, she had the same smile now but it looked to be nothing more than a mask hiding an ugly truth.

"I don't understand…"

"Hakuryuu, Hakuei, Hakuren, Hakuyuu, Kouen, Koumei, Kougyoku and Kouha; they are all if not already falling in love with you."

There was never a moment where Sakura felt more terrified than to hear something like that, for she knew of the consequences of loving someone and the pain that came when they were no longer there.

"T-That cannot be."

"But it is." Gyokuen's voice now stronger "There is nothing more unfixable than a broken heart,"

Sakura shook her head in disbelief but something was settling within her, a conclusion; a part that told her it was true.

"Don't worry little dove, you will find that any bird can find content in its cage."

Realising her speed once again, Sakura used it all to escape the room, unable to listen any longer, she felt as if she had been poisoned by Gyokuen's words and she didn't know how to fix it. Love; it was not a term that Sakura knew not to take likely, it was a powerful weapon and it had just been used against Sakura.

* * *

To numb her sense of agonising guilt Sakura began chanting the words she had used to escape from Sinbad before, yet no matter how many times she said it as she rushed to her room there was an incredible burning in her chest courtesy of Gyokuen.

"I know that we worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead but in the end I've decided to leave and go home, back to the place where I belong. This place will never be home; home will never be with you."

Reaching her room Sakura slammed her door closed and went to grab her voyage bag, her hands were shaking as she continued muttering to herself.

I know that we worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead but in the end I've decided to leave and go home, back to the place where I belong. This place will never be home; home will never be with you."

She grabbed a pen and piece of parchment from her nightstand and started writing a note to everyone, her usually neat writing now showed her nerve-wracked state.

I know that we worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead but in the end I've decided to leave and go home, back to the place where I belong. This place will never be home; home will never be with you."

She sighed her name.

I know that we worked together and for a while I thought I could take that road instead but in the end I've decided to leave and go home, back to the place where I belong. This place will never be home; home will never be with-

"What are you doing?"

Sakura spun around, her breathing shallow as she looked at Hakuyuu standing in front of her door. Her heart beat began to regulate once again, as if starring into the cooling blue eyes of the prince somehow calmed her nerves.

"Nothing." Sakura replied folding the paper "Why are you in here?"

"The messenger I sent told me you had gone with my mother."

Sakura recognized that tone, she hadn't heard it in a while but it occurred to her that he was only ever like this when the matter revolved around his mother and if Sakura was honest she was beginning to think it was for a different reason than she first thought.

"Yeah, she just wanted to speak with me since it's been a while." Sakura was surprised how well she was able to maintain herself given her recent state. "What did you want to see me about?"

Sakura thought that he was probably going to bring up their apparent engagement but instead he produced a scroll from his hand and held it out for her. "Mahir returned to the castle carrying this,"

Sakura took it and read through it and once again she felt distressed.

"This is from Kouen-he wants me to go to the fort?"

Hakuyuu nodded "The reason for the soldiers not reporting in was because they have all been incapacitated, a mysterious illness seems to have befallen them."

"Where is Kouen?" Sakura asked automatically, without thought.

"He is still at the fort,"

…

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"When do we leave?"

* * *

" _No offense my king but you are going to give us whiplash with these constant change of decisions." Gaap sighed_

It wasn't like she could really help herself and these predicaments weren't exactly enjoyable for her but Sakura did what needed to be done. She decided not to respond to her djinns, tightening her hold a little on Hakuren's waist when she felt the horse pick up speed. Since she didn't know how to ride a horse herself Sakura had to ride with someone else and it was either Hakuren or Hakuyuu or Koumei and Sakura wasn't entirely comfortable at the thought of riding with Koumei and she didn't think she could resist crushing Hakuyuu's spine if she road with him. She had not forgotten about what Gyokuen told her and she wasn't going to take it off the table anytime soon but for the time being she would push it aside.

It had taken nearly all day before arriving at the fort, a tall structured building made entirely of hard carved stone, there were several towers and it could easily be mistaken for a shrunken castle, however there was something unusual about the magnificent fort-the silence. It was completely absent of any and all guards defeating its purpose.

The gates started opening slowly, taking minutes before it was high enough for everyone to ride inside, the only ones who had taken the journey to the fort was Hakuren, Hakuyuu, Sakura, Koumei and three other soldiers who were guarding a caravan. Hakuyuu hadn't discussed he details with her but apparently they were delivering a shipment of weapons as well. Sakura didn't bother to question either.

As they entered the grounds, Kouen stood in front and Sakura felt an overwhelming feeling wash over her. His appearance was similar to when she first met him, clad in armor and his demeanor far more guarded, next to him was a young man-a solider with dark hair tied back and sharp grey eyes.

Everyone gave their greetings as they climbed off their horses.

"Kouen, your report." Hakuyuu said immediately

Just as Hakuyuu wasted no time in demanding a full report, Kouen wasted no time responding "Two weeks ago, everyone in the fort started to gradually become ill, the physicians were unable to find the cause and oddly enough they fell ill as well."

Kouen looked at Sakura and she knew instantly what he wanted "I'll have to examine everyone first and compare symptoms before anything else."

" _And yet another side project," Gaap sighed_

* * *

In a large, dark room with closed windows a fire place and a cobble stone floor lied dozens of soldiers on tarps under blankets. Pale skinned, dreary eyed and sweat covered, the only thing they voiced was groans of discomfort.

"The reason is unknown but about twenty days ago, one by one everyone started complaining about having abnormality in their bodies. It seems that most of them have lost their sense of balance and experience temporary blindness. Everyone has rashes developing on their arms and sores."

The one explaining this was the young solider that had been at the gate with Kouen who had introduced himself as Zaki, he had for whatever reason been the only one that wasn't badly affected by this sudden mysterious illness.

"It sounds like they were poisoned." Sakura said immediately, holding her hand to her mouth.

Everyone looked at her, surprised and curious as to how she came up with her conclusion so quickly.

"You believe this illness isn't mere coincidence," Kouen stated.

"Falling ill is hardly ever a coincidence," Sakura crossed her arms over her chest "But I'll need to make sure."

Hakuyuu turned to Kouen "The weapons you requested…."

"The armory at this fort had been cleared out."

There was an audible gasp from Koumei and Hakuren while Kouen and Hakuyuu continued to stare at one another in silence.

Sakura frowned "That sounds even more suspicious, a break in while everyone just happens to be incapacitated."

Then she moved a bit closer towards Kouen "Speaking of which, why don't you seem to be affected."

Kouen scoffed but it was extremely soft, if Sakura hadn't been so close she wouldn't have heard it "Do I appear infected?"

Sakura tilted her head to the side carelessly "No but you can never be too sure-speaking of which everyone get out."

All of the men standing in front of the pinkette had similar expression of surprise-well those who tended to actually show expressions.

"Move it!" Sakura snapped pointing to the door, Zaki, Koumei Hakuren leapt for the exit, trailing behind them Kouen and Hakuyuu.

Grabbing double door's handles Sakura looked at everyone with a glare of warning "Until further notice, no one is to enter here and Zaki." Sakura looked at the young man, watching as he straightened his posture "I need you to write up a detailed report for me on anything you can remember before and after people started falling ill, the symptoms, rate they fell ill and if possible where certain people were during that period."

"R-right."

Just as she was ready to close the doors Kouen's voice cut in "I'll leave them in your hands-Sakura."

The pinkette looked back, smiled and nodded and then with little effort slammed the doors shut and turned back to the soldiers.

* * *

" _My king you cannot be serious," Stolas said_

" _There are way too many men for you to treat on your own." Gaap added_

" _I'm afraid the odds don't appear to be in your favor my king,"_

Sakura smirked, she bathed in the comfort at the thought of needing to heal all these men (and it took her mind off other matters). Raising her arms, bringing her hands together she began to form signs.

'You should remember this, before a king, I am a medical ninja-emphasis on the term ninja.'

Several puffs of smoke appeared and vanished, standing in place of them were five replicas or clones of Sakura. She may not have had Naruto's superior skill of summoning over fifty to a hundred shadow clones with no effort but that didn't mean she was entirely without ability and that aside she wouldn't need that many.

"Let's get started."

"CHA"

* * *

All of the soldiers had been slightly if not further distorted at the sight of several pink haired, green eyed girls running around tending but nonetheless they allowed her to examine them and all Sakura's came back with the same symptoms, two were sent to examine the content of the food for poison. There were a few times she was interrupted by one or all of the princes but Sakura always chased them away saying that they would be risking contamination if they remained-plus none could open the door when she blocked it.

"Experience of temporary blindness, nausea, headache, burning throat, blistering skin." Reported a Sakura clone, writing everything down.

"Sounds like poison to me, the problem is the source." Sakura frowned holding a hand to her chin in thought.

Her two clones she sent in came back but with disappointing news "All of the food is safe and we checked the water supply as well."

"And?"

"Nothing."

Though it was technically good news that the food and water supply was safe as they needed to actually feed these men, it didn't help in Sakura's case of finding out the cause of this, it wasn't only the symptoms that pointed to poison but Sakura was working with the bare minimal at this fort.

'I'll have to go searching for herbs myself once I get these men settled.'

* * *

Later that night when all of the soldiers slept a bit more comfortable thanks to Sakura's healing sessions, she was able to withdraw her shadow clones after two days but she knew she would most likely be summoning them again. Even though Sakura was able to treat the soldiers using chakra but all she could really do was ease their discomfort because as long as the source was still in their bodies it would only be a matter of time before they fell ill again.

" _My king please get some rest." Beleth begged_

'I'm fine,' she assured 'I've had much worse.'

Sakura went over to the fire place, the room was located on the top floor so it was extremely cold, especially at night; gathering up the some cut fire hood Sakura threw them in, she watched as the fire crackle and burned the wood.

Sakura breathed in deeply, a wave of dizziness hit her as she stumbled back, her vision turning dark at the corners of her eyes.

'W-What?' she looked at her hand, her vision slowly returning, she recalled Zaki's report saying that it took a few days before anyone started showing extreme symptoms. Could it have been because she was so close to-she shook her head; that would only count if it was an illness but Sakura had already established it was an illness.

"Unless…." Sakura trailed looking around the room 'The poison is somewhere in this room….'

* * *

Deciding that she couldn't or rather didn't want to wait until morning Sakura left the fort in the middle of the night to search for any medical herbs that could be used to cure poison. Her djinns kept urging her to wait until morning and take this chance to rest as things were finally beginning to settle but she refused.

Transformed in Beleth's djinn equip Sakura flew across the nights sky, over the vast plains of the land known as the Kou Empire until she reached a mountain area which wasn't too far from the fort itself but still a bit of a distance. Once she landed Sakura immediately started searching, holding a hand of flames for light she walked through the forest with little fear of the creatures that dwelled in it (After all in her current state what would she have to fear?).

The mountain was vast and Sakura needed to look very closely for the proper herbs, ones that were going to have more of a general effect on the poison than anything else since she couldn't specify what kind of poison it was still.

"Of course an antidote isn't going to matter much if I don't figure out what's causing the effects." Sakura muttered gathering a few herbs, giving them a sniff and stuffing them into a bag. "Stolas you're an expert on poison right, what do you think?"

" _I am not sure my king, to be honest the symptoms are far to varied to specify,"_

'I was thinking the same thing, it's not every day you come across a poison that causes all these different effects.'

Three hours passed and by then Sakura's sac was on the verge of bursting from all the different plants and medicinal herbs she had placed in there.

"I'm still trying to figure this out, first the soldiers fall ill and then the armory is reported empty….no it couldn't be-

Something echoed through the forest that had Sakura stopping in her tracks, her boots started sinking a little in the soft soil as it often would when she stopped walking, she heard something that did not belong in a forest-laughter, several chattering voices-presumably only a few metres away.

" _My king?" called Gaap_

Extinguishing the flame in her hand by closing her hand to a fist Sakura concentrated her hearing till she pinpointed where she believed the noise was coming from and followed it until finally she caught sight of a camp fire and several burly looking men sitting around, drinking, eating, laughing while sharpening some very fine weapons-ones Sakura had seen the palace guards carrying around.

She narrowed her eyes, she knew they were the ones who broke into the armory.

" _Shall we greet my king?" asked Gaap_

A mischievous grin grew on Sakura's face.

"Haha, we made quite a hall, I still can't get over it." One of the men laughed, swinging a spear around, his moves spoke volumes of inexperience, yet he did not seem to mind.

"We're going to make a fortune selling these on the black market."

"I would have loved to see those fool's faces as they fall blind!"

"I wanted to see em wheezing for air!"

"Try scratching their arms till it bleeds-

SNAP

"Ooh that hurts…" a soft voice whined.

Readying their weapons all of the men stood up, grasping their weapons as they saw shuffling in the nearby bushes, going rigid but only for an instant till they saw a pink haired girl stumbling out of the woods and falling with no grace flat on her face. She cried softly, rubbing her nose.

"A girl?"

The men's sense of caution vanished replaced with malicious grins, leering shamelessly at the pinkette.

"Hey you lost little lady?"

Sakura looked up, eyes wide "O-Oh, yes."

There was obvious snickers of perverse hidden intent that Sakura didn't seem to hear.

One of the bandits boldly stepped up to Sakura, crouching down "Come here, don't worry we'll take good care of you-

There wasn't much more the man could say before a swift strike to his pudgy belly had him flat on the ground out cold.

"Thanks but I prefer my men conscious."

Dusting off the top of her shoulder Sakura turned to look at the other bandits "So it was you guys who poisoned those people in the fortress."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Ignoring the question Sakura asked her own "Tell me how exactly did you do it, if you confess perhaps I'll consider being a little more lenient."

"SHUT UP YOU BITCH."

"I'm afraid I can't drag this out since I have other obligations to see to."

All at once they rushed her, Sakura remained impassive; hands on her hips as they all came to strike Sakura vanished before any weapon could make contact, like a phantom her voice echoed through the forest. The bandits started looking around for her.

"Since you enjoy playing with poison, perhaps you'd like a taste of mine."

All heads looked up, a slim silhouette appeared in front of the moon causing an eclipse; taking on a terrifying appearance as mist of red began to spread across the forest ground. The men began choking.

"So does anyone feel like confessing?"

* * *

The halls were silent except for the shallow yet firm footsteps that clicked on the floors, Kouen hadn't been able to sleep in his temporary chambers, it was either the uneasiness of the fortress due to its soldiers condition or the thoughts of a pink haired medic that appearing in his mind unannounced but not unwelcomed. 'Ridiculous,' Kouen was not a rash man and he was not one to make foolish decisions but when he had requested Sakura to come to the fort, there was an instant where he had not considered the consequences. Sakura's own initial reaction to the situation was proof of that and now she has isolated herself with the incapacitated soldiers and was yet to emerge.

Kouen stumbled in his next few steps, his vision becoming impaired and darkness surrounding the corner of his eyes, he stopped and drew his hand up to his face feeling it heat slightly.

'It seems it hasn't worn off,'

"It's not like you to lose face, Kouen."

A shocking awakening resulted as Kouen turned around to see his cousin Hakuyuu only a few feet away, he had somehow managed to deafen his footsteps on the stone floors.

"Lord Hakuyuu,"

Nodding in acknowledgment to Kouen's greeting, Hakuyuu kept his arms folded under his long sleeves, he had a more casual appearance but even so Kouen could still identify the severity of his image that came with age in that context-Kouen didn't compare.

"She is not there," Hakuyuu said slaughtering the silence.

"I see,"

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"What are they doing?" a hushed voice asked

There was a soft but audible yawn that went on "Clearly having some starring contest."

Kouen and Hakuyuu were unaware of the two figures belonging to their sibling's peering behind the next corner. Hakuren leaned over Koumei as if getting a few milli meters of closed distance would enable him to hear Kouen and Hakuyuu's voice at a marginal volume.

"Kouen, you are not one to speak in tongues; you've always been straight forward and that's something I find commendable about you."

"Thank you my lord."

"However," Hakuyuu interrupted, his expression with the slightest hint of a frown "There is something you have been hiding."

Kouen appeared unfazed by his cousin accusation or rather observation, "There is nothing."

"Kouen, tell me honestly; do you want the throne?"

Hakuren and Koumei almost spluttered out loud in panic, which would have given away their location and they'd rather not have their brother's attention turn to them right now.

"Why do you ask my lord?"

"I don't fancy waging war against my own blood." Hakuyuu replied, simplistically

Kouen stared at him, serious as usual. As if he was attempting to figure something out when it finally seemed to click. "This has to do with her."

"I have never been one to question my father's decisions," Hakuyuu started, titling his head down eyes closed he began replaying in his mind the recent meeting he had with his father and mother.

" _Well my lord, what do you think?" Gyokuen asked, her voice soft with a seductive venom, she looked at her husband with a smile diagonally from the long oak wood table._

" _She is rather intriguing." Hakutoku replied, leaning on his hands "And she appeared to be all you've described her as but at the same time I do not believe in being rash about these kinds of decisions-especially what is at risk."_

 _Gyokuen chuckled, holding a slim finger to her chin "At risk, my lord I do not believe you should worry about that; Hakuyuu already has the upper hand."_

 _Hakuyuu suppressed all urges he had to speak out against his mother, he had to appear calm and clear headed before he rejected any proposals or he would be brushed off as rash and his words would be unheard. Civil war? Honestly his mother could be a professional puppeteer the way she pulled everyone's strings in the palace, knowing exactly what their weaknesses were and what to say to set them off or coax them to do what she wanted._

" _Then I suppose it would be best to agree to these terms."_

" _Father if I may," Hakuyuu interrupted at last, his father looked over at him._

" _Yes son."_

" _Sakura Haruno is an exceptionally strong willed women and based on what I've observed she will not take well to being placed in this position."_

 _Gyokuen's smile broadened "If that is the case Hakuyuu then why are you courting the girl?"_

 _Hakuyuu fell silent and he knew Gyokuen had him there. He couldn't argue or it would give him more discourse and not just for him but for Sakura as well and he knew what his mother was capable of when she was dissatisfied._

" _Sakura Haruno is what would be described as a rare gem, she's intelligent and I doubt it would take much time to turn her into a women fit to be a concert, aside from that she would add strength to the Kou Empire, a strength that no noble women could possibly have to offer. Not only does she is she a dungeon conqueror, she had rare abilities that are phenomenal and would carry to her children. It would be a mistake to let her slip without at least attempted persuasion, we cannot force her, she holds more power than an army of men."_

 _There was no way of Gyokuen possibly knowing that but it didn't seem like it was going to matter because Hakuyuu knew-she was going to win._

" _I do not believe that she would agree to this father," Hakuyuu attempted but in vain._

" _That is why we are letting her decide." Gyokuen said offhandedly "But Hakuyuu, you need to be aware of the position this puts you in as well."_

"Several days ago, a decree has been initiated, a marriage proposal for the hand of Sakura Haruno."

Kouen was known for being well composed but in this instant, but Hakuyuu saw his cousins expression change, the slight widening of his eyes, and raised eyebrows, his mouth turning into a straight line, yet there was so much more behind that expression.

"I should give my congratulations."

Hakuyuu then chuckled, but there was no sense of humor laced in that tone, he ran a hand through his hair "I suppose that response would suffice in your usual state of being but I know you are shocked, as was I when I discovered my father agreed to certain conditions, it is the reason why I asked you the previous question."

Knowing that he was going to get further explanation Kouen didn't reply. Hakuren and Koumei glanced up at each other, they were anxiously waiting for one of them to respond, despite its brief length their conversation took a quick turn for an intense dynamic.

"Do you think we should intervene?" asked Koumei

"Are you crazy? That's like getting the middle of a conversation between a tiger and a lion." Hakuren whispered back frowning.

"That's a little melodramatic…."

"Despite the decree, it can only be officiated-perhaps authenticated would be more sufficient if Haruno agrees to the arrangement and-she must choose whose consort she will become." Hakuyuu said, stepping forward Hakuyuu placed a hand on Kouen's shoulder "There is one more thing….it pertains to the question I asked you previously-

"KOUMEI, KOUEN, HAKUREN, PRINCE HAKUYUU GET OUT HERE."

Their conversation came to a halt and Koumei and Hakuren quickly departed before they were discovered by Kouen and Hakuyuu. All to see a pinkette outside the fort.

* * *

"Disturbingly enough this is not the strangest turn of events since you've arrived." Koumei said eyeing the group of men groaning-some with bruises neatly tied together back to back with a rope across their arms and then Sakura standing next to them, hand on her hip and a grin on her face.

"I'll say," Hakuren nodded in agreement "Just this afternoon I thought I saw two Sakura's."

Snickering the pink haired girl held up her bag filled to the brim with herbs, she told the princes about how she went to search for medicinal herbs in the forest and in turn found the culprits behind the empty armory.

"That was a real stroke of luck," Hakuren said

Sakura shrugged "Fate likes to surprise me, anyway you guys can deal this bunch."

"Hold on, where are you going?" Koumei asked as she walked across the princes and passed them.

"To do my job,"

The first thing Sakura did when she walked back into the room she had isolated herself in for two days, was put out the 'comforting' fire, then she cleared up the cinders that remained including the sides before gathering up all of the unused firewood and tossing them away-then gathered new firewood outside of the fort, rebuilding the fire in the soldiers resting area-after she went down to the kitchen with all of the herbs she gathered.

"Okay, now it's really time to get to work."

" _Really my king, you are too much sometimes." Beleth said_

" _I'm tired." Gaap groaned_

* * *

"What in the world?" Zaki asked awe struck, his jaw slack.

The following day Kouen, Hakuren, Hakuyuu, Koumei and Zaki were awakened in the early hours of the morning due to the chatters of voices they could not individualize; opening the large double doors they were met with the sight of all of their incapacitate-or rather previously incapacitated soldiers moving about the room, talking, laughing, eating breakfast, their figures now holding a difference glow as opposed to their previously pasty complexions. Amongst the energetic atmosphere was a blurring figure shifting through the men, never remaining in one place for too long.

"Alright, now that everyone's eaten and taken the medicine I need you to get ready for checkups in about an hour. Those who still feel nauseous or experiencing any abnormalities on the right side of the room!"

Everyone didn't dare refuse, moving about quickly to their designated sides; Sakura spotted the five males in the front of the door.

"It's alright to come in now, the poisons been taken care of."

"Really, what was the cause?" asked Zaki

Sakura pointed to the fireplace, a fresh fire burning "The firewood, when burned it scattered dangerous particles-some trees have poisonous properties and they can scatter via smoke."

Zaki gasped in realization "That's right, we received them from this group of travelers who said they didn't want to carry them!"

"That was probably those bandits," Sakura said "Next time you should be more wary."

"Everyone seems to be in better condition." Hakuyuu observed, looking around again as if he was expect something to go wrong at any moment.

Sakura scoffed, tossing her head to the side "It wasn't hard to make the antidote after I figured out the source, also the ones who were mostly inside had the worst of the effects which is why Zaki and Kouen weren't effected as badly."

Kouen spoke, quick to correct Sakura "I am not-

"Oh shut up," Sakura cut him off, her tone clipped "If I can tell when you're sleep deprived I sure as hell can tell when you're poisoned, here."

Zaki and Kouen caught one of two small bottles with a disgusting green liquid inside that Sakura had tossed to them.

"Those dosages should be enough for now,"

"Neh…I don't really enjoy bitter things."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and starred at Zaki "Neither to children but they still take their medicine," her attention then fell on Kouen who seemed to be inspecting the vile "You better drink that if you don't want to end up prescribed to your bed again."

Zaki looked at Sakura, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion "Will the effects become worse if we don't take the antidote?"

"Oh no, the poison isn't really deadly and it could work its way out of your system in a couple of days or weeks."

Kouen then knew what Sakura was insinuating by him ending up incapacitated again and he was not amused, though he did unscrew the lid of the bottle and drink it in a swift gulp, it seemed that Koumei, Hakuyuu and Hakuren knew what Sakura was referring to as well because Koumei and Hakuyuu were trying and not very convincingly concealing their smiles and snickers.

Clapping her hands twice Sakura spun on her heel "Alright who's ready for their checkups?"

"WE ARE."

* * *

Five days since Sakura had come to the fort, five days since she had diagnosed the soldiers of poison, five days since she had captured the people responsible, five days since she began tending to all of the soldiers and five days since she had last slept. Her djinns kept trying to get their king to get at least a few hours of rest before she resumed her work but she said she couldn't do that, not when she had to make medicine for all of the soldiers who were on three shifts in the day and woke up every eight hours so she had to have it ready for them before, Sakura had to take care of the cooking as well with some help from Zaki, she also needed to record their progress and that was a lot of paper work. At first she used shadow clones to lessen the load but it was becoming difficult to maintain them with her fatigue, she was excessively using her chakra to do a lot of her work, including healing which took a lot of concentration and precision.

"Alright, you seem to be recovered. Are you still experiencing any pain?" Sakura asked removing her hand from the soldier's chest who was complaining about some complications with his breathing.

"No Lady Haruno," the solider said looking slightly shocked, no matter how many times they saw her use her skills they were always in awe. On the first night when she had created shadow clones and every time she healed them, always able to magically take away any discomforts and pains.

Sakura nodded, writing down on a piece of paper and standing up as she had just finished with the last soldier.

"If anyone feels anymore pain or abnormalities alert me right away, I'll be in the kitchen."

The men watched as she left the room, eyes focused on her pink hair that vanished around the corner turn.

"She is amazing isn't she?"

"Yeah, for such a young age."

"I hear she is prince Hakuyuu's future consort."

"Huh? Seriously!?"

"Yes, prince Hakuren confirmed it."

"I thought she was Lord Kouen's," Zaki said walking up to the group of soldiers, before the discussion could turn into a debate the four princes walked into the room and over to them.

"How is everyone feeling?" Hakuyuu asked

"Much better prince Hakuyuu," said a man standing up "Everyone appears to be fully recovered and we are able to resume our duties to our full ability."

Hakuyuu nodded, "Good, but don't overdo it."

Koumei looked at them "Are you still taking medicine?"

"Yes, but according to lady Haruno we need not take it anymore."

Hakuren had his hands behind his head and glanced over at his family "Hey, where is Sakura?"

"Miss Haruno has just left, she said she was going to the kitchen."

"That right, I almost forgot she's been cooking," Koumei said looking up at the ceiling.

"She also said she finished writing up the report on all of the soldiers." Kouen said

"Already?" asked Hakuren surprised, he placed his hand on his chin in thought "She sure works hard,"

"On the first two nights I do not believe Miss Haruno even slept."

Hakuyuu, Hakuren, Kouen and Koumei then frowned as the same question dawned on them, when exactly did Sakura sleep?

* * *

Sakura's temporary room was plain and she liked it, the single bed and desk was different compared to the one at the palace, some would say it was dull but she believed it was the perfect place to work, with nothing to catch her eye and distract her. She sat the desk writing down the last of her reports, she wanted to get that finished tonight since she was told that they would be returning to the palace and Sakura did not want to delay them.

" _My king please, go to sleep" Beleth begged again "Even you cannot keep this constant pace."_

Sakura let out a dry chuckle, rubbing her eyes, something she did every time they would grow too heavy and battle to close.

'I'm alright, I need to be.'

 _Gaap sighed "Why exactly are you working so hard my king?"_

The pen paused on the paper creating a spot of ink that looked like an enlarged full-stop. Sakura ran a hand through her head.

"Because….

"Are you busy?"

Sakura's head snapped to the side, Prince Hakuyuu stood at the foot of her door, his hand bent against the door indicating he had knocked but Sakura didn't hear him the same way she didn't hear him opening her door she knew was closed before.

"Prince Hakuyuu," she greeted "I'm just writing up the final report,"

Hakuyuu stared at her, his gaze gave Sakura the urge to fidget but she wasn't able to ask him about it because he spoke first, raising a slip finger he pointed down in front of him.

"Come here."

Sakura raised an eyebrow but stood up, her sleep deprived state was not in the best position for protest. Now in front of Hakuyuu said crossed her arms, waiting for him to say something but was surprised when Hakuyuu suddenly placed his palm over her eyes shielding them from the dim light of the lamp at the desk.

"Prince Hakuyuu what are you-

"Don't move." Hakuyuu instructed firmly causing Sakura's hands to freeze midway from gripping his own and pulling it off.

"What exactly-

"You're tired," Hakuyuu stated

Sakura's shoulder tensed, she quickly denied "No, I am fine."

"Prove it then; do not move till I remove my hands."

Sakura opened her mouth ready to argue when Hakuyuu intervened again "And don't speak."

Her mouth closed, Sakura kept her arms crossed; she wanted to get back to work. Not only was this unusual but it was robbing her of precious time she could be spending wrapping up her work.

Then a wave of drowsiness washed over Sakura, her head felt light, her eyelids closed under the darkness with nothing to stimulate them, her breathing started to shallow and Sakura was not able to realize that she was slipping into the darkness that surrounded her vision-much to her djinns relief.

"No more than two minutes," Hakuyuu trailed starring at the pinkette now leaning against his form unconscious. Hakuyuu brought his hand up, trailing it through the pinkette's short locks. "What a strange girl you are."

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The moon's beams of white light shone through the windows, Sakura's vision blurred as her eyes attempted to adjust to the miniscule supply of light, as she pushed herself up on her arms she felt an external weight and filled spaces between her from under the covers, her mind finally sharpened itself enough for her to comprehend the four lumps surrounding her bed and identified them as a sleeping, Kougyoku and Kouha on her right and Hakuryuu and Hakuei on her left.

'No wonder I feel so cramped,'

Sakura gasped when it finally registered that the only way for the four princes and princesses to be in her room would be for her to be back in the Imperial palace which meant she must have been asleep for-

"Awake at last,"

Recognizing Hakuyuu's voice, Sakura wasn't as surprised as she should have been when she saw him sitting in a chair across the room from her bed.

"What happened?"

"You proved yourself to be a fool that's what."

It was not the most gracious of greetings to receive after awakening from a fatigue induced sleep and frankly Sakura was not going to take it. Shifting carefully out of bed, leaving the four children undisturbed her walk was like a feline, silent and swift.  
"Excuse me," Sakura jabbed Hakuyuu's chest with her finger, voice soft but held a sense of severity "I'm a fool, that's what you say to me after I healed your soldiers, captured those bandits and-

"You've been asleep for two days,"

Sakura stopped, her jaw slackened and eyes widened "What- what I've been sleeping that long?"

"Throughout the journey back to the palace and then an extra day which resulted in that," Hakuyuu gestured with his head back in the direction of Sakura's bed to the four children. "They've been anxiously waiting your return and once they heard of your condition they stormed the palace and have refused to leave."

Apparently they were incapable of removing four children, the eldest barely ten from her room. Sakura tilted her chin down frowning, it was still hard to believe that they were all right here together, Hakuryuu and Hakuei, Kouha and Kougyoku have never interacted with one another before.

Unable to suppress her giggle there was an audible shuffle behind her that caused the two to look back at the bed, they saw Hakuryuu changing positions in his sleep but he did not wake.

Hakuyuu began making his way for the door "Come,"

She knew that by the tone of his voice he wasn't going to give her much choice, it was either they were going to converse in her room and risk stirring four children who more likely than not wouldn't go back to sleep therefore Sakura followed after Hakuyuu mentally preparing herself for a vocal melee.

* * *

There was no way for Sakura to mask her surprise when Hakuyuu lead her to an empty dining hall, similar to the one she would eat with Hakuyuu in but with a far more gaudy design of red pillars lined with golden carvings of dragons and a shiny light wood table, not much else decorating the room. A servant came in and set a plate of piping hot food in front of Sakura, the aroma went straight from her nose to her stomach, causing a chain reaction resulting in a loud growl which in turn made Sakura blush.

'I've been asleep for two days, it's not like I can help it.' Sakura thought as she carefully began picking at the food, taking in small portioned bites, it wasn't that she wasn't starving but when you could feel a piercing gaze on you as you eat it made it so much easier to maintain control over your appetite.

"You really are a fool." Hakuyuu's voice gave silent echo through the room.

Sakura rolled her eyes "How original, yeah that's been established."

"You are; you are a physician who ironically did not see to her own health and wellbeing."

There was no denying that point but Sakura felt a jab of insult to her profession in the manner he said it.

"I am not a fool prince Hakuyuu," Sakura hissed "As a medic my concern goes to those I have been entrusted to care for hence my own wellbeing becomes irrelevant."

"That is a foolish notion."

There was a calm silence that fell between them once again, a few minutes they just stared at one another, until Sakura decided to break eye contact and started eating with an eager deliberateness; she did not take her eyes off her plate until it was cleared of every morsel, leaving nothing but remains of what would be considered dog food, after she gulped down a cup of water, feeling relief from that irritating burn one gets in their throat after waking up from a long sleep.

"You should have said something," Hakuyuu finally spoke "It would not have done anyone any good if you had passed out before completing their treatment."

"Prince Hakuyuu, I am a medic for a reason because I am committed." Sakura said starring at her reflection in the silver goblet, she swirled it around. "So much to a point where it can be considered unhealthy but that doesn't matter to me. I thought you would understand that."

Hakuyuu looked at her, his eyes questioning, "I do not."

Looking back at him Sakura set down the goblet, folding her arms over her chest "You don't know what it means to be committed?"

"I don't understand the notion of your statement," Hakuyuu corrected, his tone harshened.

"Putting the needs of other's before yourself and before your personal feelings. That is what it means to be committed." Sakura stated, gesturing with her hand to herself "I am a medic and I know I would rather risk my own life than the life of someone else, you are a prince who will one day lead and entire country. You cannot tell me you don't' expect there to be times where you will have to set aside your own personal preference and feelings for what is best for your country."

"And if I were to say that I do?"

"Then I'd call you the fool, a prince unworthy of his name." Sakura said but then she smiled, a genuine smile of contempt "Of course….I would never believe that to be true."

Hakuyuu's eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opening slightly as he took in her expression, he felt his heart begin pounding again. Standing up quickly, which startled the pinkette as he made his way around the table ignoring Sakura's questioning gaze.

"You are right," Hakuyuu said a smirk on his face "I would never make a rash decision based purely on emotions unless it was for the good of my country and I did not think there would come a day where both would correspond together so well."

Sakura's eyes raked over Hakuyuu's form and she felt a shudder of nervous when she noticed the strange flutter of the rukh around him….it was odd.

"I need you to do something in order to confirm my suspicions." Hakuyuu said leaning over Sakura's chair, she leaned back and wanted to protest but she caught the seriousness as well as a hint of desperateness in his eyes and nodded slowly-although she instantly regretted it.

"Call me by my name,"

"What?"

"Address me without title, then I will know for certain," Hakuyuu leaned closer and in order to dispose of the awkward position Sakura quickly complied. She cleared her throat and looked him straight in his eyes.

"….Hakuyuu…."

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"Now I know,"

Sakura let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding when Hakuyuu pulled away; feeling that she had quite enough excitement for one night Sakura quickly stood up almost knocking the chair to the ground.

"I-I'm going to bed, good night." Sakura didn't know what to call him anymore so she chose rather not to address him in that sense at all and walked passed him.

"Sakura."

She froze, there was something in Hakuyuu's tone that made her unnervingly anxious, against her better judgment and inner screaming at her to escape immediately she remained, perhaps out of curiosity as she has never seen the prince behave this way before.

However what happened next was far more than she EVER expected, in her current state of her mind she wasn't able to process nor react fast enough-much like the time with Sinbad as Hakuyuu's face neared her own and the familiar pressure was felt below her face-just as before Sakura's mind went blank, all intellect and logic erased for a few seconds only this time instead of disappearing in a state of initial shock she would remain-right in front of the man that was kissing her-and that notion terrified her. Yet, as if she was bound by chakra to the floor Sakura remained as Hakuyuu pulled away, opening his eyes but there was something different now. The rukh around him were fluttering with an excitement.

"I am certain," Hakuyuu said, even though he was starring right at Sakura he was speaking more to himself.

Finally Sakura regained feeling in the rest of her body and stepped back from Hakuyuu quickly "W-What the hell was that!? Why did you kiss me!?"

"I needed clarity," Hakuyuu said

"About what?!" Sakura attempted to screeched but it was more of a light shriek

"Is it not obvious?" asked Hakuyuu appearing slightly annoyed

While Sakura may have been a strong fighter, an excellent healer and a gifted intellectual she was a bit of a novice when it came to matters such as romance-despite claiming to be in love with someone for many years it was not as if she had actual, physical practice in these kinds of affairs it was an untainted innocence that was a great weakness.

"N-No," Sakura said, she wasn't' sure if it was because she truly did not know the answer or if she was too afraid to draw that conclusion.

Hakuyuu appeared to be thinking really hard, his eyes never leaving Sakura's, "It would seem you need to take some time to yourself, I'll take my leave, goodnight-Sakura."

She jumped a little after he said her name but without doing anything else, Hakuyuu turned around and left Sakura standing in the room, still recovering. She sunk to the floor and looked at her trembling hand.

"What the hell is wrong with the people in this world?"

" _They are falling in love with you."_

Gyokuen's voice ran through Sakura's head and she quickly shook it to dispel the memory.

'That can't be, it just can't!'

Sakura then had an epiphany, about a certain issue she was yet to address….

* * *

"You're awake."

Sakura stared, hands at her sides, her expression had her balancing on the verge of crying or destroying everything in sight-least that's how she appeared to Kouen with her eyes brimmed with tears, frowning hard and her lips pulled in a straight line.

"Can I come in?" Sakura asked, her voice contradicting her expression, it was calm, stoic.

Kouen stepped aside allowing her to enter, closing the door behind her. He watched as Sakura went deeper into his room before coming to an abrupt halt. Kouen turned, folding his arms and waited for her the explanation he knew she would know to give him-otherwise there would be no reason for her to be here.

"Your cousins an idiot."

Kouen didn't reveal any sign of reaction but he was taken aback by the pinkette's statement, she sounded very genuine as if stating fact, it was void of any emotion which usually controlled those kinds of accusations.

"You are referring to Hakuyuu,"

"Who else?" Sakura's knuckles were white from how hard she was clenching them.

"Is that all you came to tell me?"

Sakura spun around, glaring at Kouen "That's all you have to say? Do you have any idea of what's been going on since you've been gone?"

"How would I know if I've been gone?"

It was a rational reason and Sakura knew it clearly yet at the same time logic just wasn't something she wanted to hear. "Of course you wouldn't and that's what pisses me off! You leave while I'm being 'courted' by your cousin, then I am told I have been accepted into becoming a princes consort! I never agreed to marry anyone and here the empress is telling me I am getting married to him!"

"That is not the case," Kouen cut of her off.

"Oh really, I believe empress Gyokuen's exact words were 'Even though you have no social status the emperor has agreed to broker a marriage between you and Hakuyuu!'"

"You were courting him."

Sakura threw her arms up into the air "THAT WASN'T REAL, WE WERE ONLY DOING THAT BECAUSE HAKUYUU TRUSTS HIS MOTHER LESS THAN ME."

Taking a few breaths to calm down, she could feel the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

As expected Kouen revealed no true reaction "That isn't the arrangement,"

"What?" Sakura snapped

"You were misled; you do not have to marry anyone, the only declaration the emperor has made is that he will give his blessing should you decide to wed anyone from the royal family."

Sakura's face turned to shock "W-What about what I was told?"

"From what I understand empress Gyokuen told you that because she wanted you to believe you would have no say in the matter therefore you would not think to leave."

Sakura's faced turned red, she stomped her foot on the ground effectively cracking the floors "Why would she do that!? It's not like there would be anyway to keep me here besides that just encourages me to leave."

"You are right, there is reason to believe she is the root cause of this arrangement; she is the only one who could have convinced the emperor to make the declaration at the risk of his own line of succession."

Sakura frowned deeply, her forehead creased "What are you talking about?"

Closing his eyes Kouen spoke "At the fort, I was informed about this arrangement allowing you to choose a husband from the royal family; an additional factor to perhaps coax both you and your consort to accept would be the additional condition-whoever you decide to marry will be declared the next emperor of the Kou Empire after the current, regardless of seniority."

It happened again for the second time in one night-Sakura was struck speechless; she had to take several heavy breaths to find her voice. She understood clearly what Kouen was saying; should she decide to actually marry one of them, be it Hakuyuu, Hakuren, Koumei or Kouen they would become the next emperor of Kou. Now, what Sakura really wanted to know is what possessed them to agree to something like that, all to have her stay in the Kou Empire and join their family.

"You have got to be kidding me,"

"You find it hard to believe." Kouen observed

Sakura ran a hand through her short hair and started tugging at the ends "Of course I do-look at me! You said it yourself I wouldn't last in royal court! That and the fact that I wouldn't even consider!"

With a heavy sigh Sakura flung herself back, landing onto Kouen's bed and sinking into the soft material, without care, one hand over her eyes. The room went silent once more.

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"I'm leaving,"

Sakura could hear her heat beating drastically in her eyes; she peaked from under her arm to look at Kouen, he was standing in front of her now. She knew she didn't have to say anything else because he would understand what she was saying, she was leaving-tonight-right now.

"You won't find a boat."

"I don't need one," Sakura muttered back

"You are running."

"Call it what you will, I just can't stay here any longer. I can't get tangled up in everyone's affairs like this." Sakura hissed under her breath.

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it these last few weeks." Kouen stated

Sakura shot up glaring at Kouen, both hands clenching the sheets under her "I was only trying to help, I don't turn my back on people who need me-but this is an entirely different matter, it's unnecessary. The only reason that decree was even made is because I'm wanted for my power and abilities, it wouldn't make me any different than those noble women who get married based on their political offering's to their families."

Kouen's eyes narrowed "Why exactly are you telling me this, why not discuss it with Hakuyuu?"

"Because he isn't going to listen!" Sakura said surely

"Is that what you truly believe?" asked Kouen "What exactly could he have done to merit that belief?"

Sakura's mouth closed tightly, she did not want to tell Kouen about her recent encounter with Hakuyuu, she was still recovering from it. And after five minutes when Kouen knew she wasn't going to give him a reason he decided to speak again. Sakura's eyes met his when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"You have no obligation to Kou or anyone here, you are at liberty to do as you wish that includes leaving," Kouen said

Sakura smiled, even though Kouen said so little it meant a lot, he wasn't against her leaving, he wouldn't make her feel guilty for doing something like this. It was a bit ironic and yet at the same time suitable; he was the one who brought her to the palace in the first place and now he was the one reassuring her that she could leave. In his own way, he had comforted her.

Standing up Sakura wrapped her arms around the red headed prince's shoulders, "Thank you Kouen,"

And she was surprised to feel arms encircling around her waist, "That is not necessary, Sakura."

* * *

" _So we are finally leaving my king," Beleth stated_

Sakura nodded, setting down the quilt and glancing over the piece of paper on the desk where she had written her farewell note. Sakura then went to her bed and gave Hakuei, Hakuryuu, Kouha and Kougyoku each a kiss on their foreheads and tucked them in; she wasn't sure what was going to happen to them from here and she was a bit nervous to leave them behind but she was certain that they would eventually shape their own paths.

'It's up to you now,'

With that she left, closing the door behind her without a creak. This would be the last time they ever saw them-or so Sakura believed.

* * *

The night's air was cool against her skin as Sakura stared up at the starry sky, standing on a hill overlooking the Imperial palace, she admired it for the last time. Then she stopped and turned around when she heard the wild fluttering behind her, a familiar figure emerging from the shadows.

"Yunan," Sakura breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said back

"Actually I was just leaving," Sakura said gesturing to the looking glass and she noticed Yunnan's eyes linger a bit longer on the mirror before he looked back up at her.

"I see," He smiled in reply "You're looking well Sakura,"

A sad smile graced Sakura's face "Am I? I feel like crap,"

"Certainly better than Sinbad," Yunan said, his expression turning grim then and it was something that immediately caught Sakura's ear and she was instantly filled with worry because Yunan ever so rarely appeared that genuine.

"Why would you say that?" Sakura asked, her stomach churning.

When he didn't reply Sakura walked up to Yunan and asked in a clear yet worried tone. Yunan what's happened to Sinbad?"

Yunan's eyes narrowed, his soft face contradicted with a hard and serious expression, "Sakura; Sinbad has been taken as a slave."

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"W-what!? No that's-that's not possible-that can't be-Yunan stop kidding around-

"You saw it yourself didn't you?" Yunan asked causing Sakura's eyes to grow wide.

 _The next time the sword was swung Sinbad used his own to glide across the gigantic weapon while saying something to the child that Sakura couldn't make out and then as he reached the hilt to where the boy stood with surprise on his face Sinbad prepared to swing his sword-only for the fanalis to drop his own, clench his tiny fist and then with one swift motion burry it in Sinbad's armoured chest-cracking it and rendering the great dungeon conqueror unconscious._

 _The entire arena fell silent while Sakura stared in horror, this immense pain engulfed her senses as she recalled what one of the men said. If he lost then Sinbad would become-_

" _A slave…."_

"H-How can this…."

Yunan pointed a slim finger towards Sakura's deity neck but she knew he was gesturing to the Looking Glass.

"When you are in a dungeon, time is distorted between the outside world and the dungeon. The mirror gave you a vision of the present events elsewhere, the events of someone you hold a strong connection to. Sakura, Sinbad has become a slave."

Tears filled her eyes quick and rushed down even quicker, gathering at her chin and falling to the ground Sakura shook her head, she didn't want to believe it yet she knew it was true. Guilt filled her entire being and the question of how and why this happened become irrelevant to her because she was blinded-blinded by one thing now-to help Sinbad and set him free.

'I couldn't save Sasuke but I have the chance to save you,'

"W-Where" She breathed heavily "Where is he?"

Yunan's lips formed a line as if he wasn't sure to tell her, but Sakura slammed her foot on the ground so hard that the earth cracked around them and on the edge of a steep hill no less-showing him that Sakura clearly had no concern for anything else but getting answers.

"If I tell you what will you do?"

"I'm going to get him of course!" Sakura answered appearing very infuriated now by Yunan's what she viewed as pointless questions wasting precious time.

"Sakura, I don't think that's a good idea."

"What?" Sakura asked glaring at Yunan.

"The Looking Glass has a very particular type of magic, I told you before that attachments were what anchored you to this world-if you do this you will be solidifying that belief and you may find yourself incapable of using the Looking Glass again-it's just a theory but if it should prove to be correct…."

Sakura closed her eyes, deep in thought, was it really true, would she really not be able to use it?

"Like you said it's only a theory Yunan," Sakura exhaled softly "I can't risk Sinbad's life based on something like that."

"But Sakura do you truly understand the risk? Are you really willing to make the sacrifice?"

She didn't hold back when answering, her eyes now free of tears though her cheeks still wet "Yes, I am because I would never abandon anyone I call a friend-not in my world or in this one."

"Then I will take you there myself." Yunan said

Sakura smiled "Thank you,"

"But first," Yunan held out his hands "I need you to give me the mirror."

Sakura took a step back, her hand reaching out to cover the mirror, she frowned at Yunan "What?"

"And your djinns," Yunan added

"But-

"Sakura, it's been a few weeks since Sinbad has been taken as a slave, you're going to find that you cannot bring Sinbad back the way you may have imagined you could. You cannot use your djinns."

"I don't under-

"You have to trust me on this," Yunan said holding out his hands.

With great hesitance Sakura removed the mirror and then gathered up her three djinn's metal vessels, looking down at them.

" _My king…" Stolas trailed_

" _Are you really going to do this?" asked Beleth_

" _You can't be serious!" called Gaap._

Sakura sniffed and hugged her three vessels, "Don't worry; I'll be back for you."

With that said she handed them over to Yunan "This is not goodbye forever, I'll leave them where you can find them." Yunan reassured and then waved his staff.

"Oh and you shouldn't' fight you've accomplished your goal." Yunan said

White engulfed Sakura completely and she felt herself being lifted and carried through the air, a similar experience she had with the looking glass.

* * *

"We've arrived, get up you scum!" a harsh voice demanded. "Everyone get up!"

Sakura stood up, the chains rattled in an uncomfortable rhythm. Yunan had transported her in the middle of a forest but she didn't have a lot of time to question why because she had then come across a band of slave merchants making their way through with slaves in toll. She knew then that this wasn't a coincidence. So she disguise herself, changing her hair to a blonde nearly as strong as Naruto's and then revealing herself as a weakened girl and letting them capture her. Sakura at first had a bit of doubts but when she heard the location and the name _Madaura_ she knew she was on the right track. They took her and the rest of the enslaved people to a dock where they boarded a ship. It had been an uncomfortable few days but Sakura got through them-imagining what Sinbad must have been feeling then and possibly still while she was off in a palace.

As the sun hit her face for the first time in days, only one thought came to mind. 'I'm coming Sinbad,'

* * *

 **PHEW, that was an insane chapter and the longest one and I have and probably will ever write, I just really wanted to wrap up her time in Kou but it just seemed to keep going on and on and the next thing I now I'm on 60 PAGES. Finally though that's finished.**

 **Now sadly I am going to be starting exams very soon and I have no doubt that it will delay me greatly from writing. I will try to get at least one more chapter in before then but it's literally now three weeks away in counting and I still haven't studied because of all my assignments I have.**

 **Don't forget to review-although I'm expecting it to take a while given the length of this chapter.**

 **BYE FOR NOW.**


	24. The life of a slave: punishments

**Hello, I just want to say that I appreciate all the reviews so much so that I had to update again. Oh and if you go onto my deviant art page (Katsura369) you'll be able to see Sakura what Sakura looks like with short hair-or at least how I picture her And her disguise appearance as slave.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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Infiltration was not a term Sakura was unfamiliar with but slavery wasn't a practiced term in her world, but it was something in this world that everyone had the potential to experience and she hated the thought. It gave her the horrible notion that no matter where you go there would always be strife and chaos in every world, there was no such thing as a utopia of a world-as far as she could determine.

There was a rough pull along her chains causing everyone to stumble and someone to bump in from behind her, Sakura turned around.

"Are you alright?" she asked gently, it was a man who had bumped into her, he appeared to be in his thirties, tan-skinned, Sakura gritted her teeth when she saw the bruises on his body-obviously a result of his struggle during his capture.

He looked at Sakura and appeared like he was about to reply when suddenly he and Sakura were knocked back along with a few other people whose chains were interlinked with theirs.

"No talking!" ordered a man-a slave trader.

"Hey don't damage the merchandise!" another yelled

Again, every fiber of Sakura's being wanted nothing more than to break free from the chains that felt like they were tightening around her but she didn't, she wouldn't. Not until she saw Sinbad and rescued him. Her eyes hardened as she turned back around, ignoring the cries of all the people around her and the harsh screams of the slave traders. She put her head down. 'I'm coming Sinbad.'

* * *

After departing from the ship, everyone had been overcrowded in several carriages, it looked like a circus cage; that was the first thing Sakura thought when she saw it with the bars, the ground was hard and it smelled foul. She kept quiet watching the outside, she had overheard that this place was called Ria Venus Island. She hadn't heard about it before but it appeared to be a very prosperous place similar to Reim in that sense. All of the people that walked through the streets were wearing fine clothing and jewelry, she noted all of the entertainment establishments around them including a coliseum and several casinos and pubs-she was certain Sinbad would have enjoy himself here-under different circumstances. Sakura clenched her fists tightly together so hard her knuckles were white. The carriages went to a large building, near equivalence to a castle- over towering the entire city, it was fitting.

There were quite a few children in her caravan in particular, but Sakura noticed that this particular group of slave traders had more children on them, which didn't make much sense, young people were more durable than older adults but children while more obedient were physically incapable of doing tasks most adults could.

Their cries hadn't died down since they left the harbor and it seemed to be upsetting the slave merchants who were constantly slamming on the makeshift cage for them to 'shut the fuck up,'

Sakura scooted over to the group of children gathered in a particular corner, a smile graced her dry lips.

"Hey, hey shh"

She slowly reached out her hand towards a little girl, with dark hair in a tight braid, tears streaming down her face. Her hand rested on her before gently stroking. "Come on, don't let these nasty men see your tears, they are not worth it."

"B-But, w-we're gonna be slaves."

Sakura continued to pet the girls head, gathering her in her arms and then extending her free one out, the other children slowly started moving towards her, gathering around.

"You have to be brave okay?" Sakura said, her head glancing back and forth between all of them "I know it's scary but don't let that be the only reason you cry, if you are brave, you can overcome anything, even this."

"Ho-how do you know?" the young girl hiccuped.

Sakura smiled tapping her nose "Because I do."

* * *

The journey wasn't too long at least in comparison to the boat, the carriage came to a magnificent entrance of the building she had spotted in the distance and taken in, then after the carriages came to a halt before they were all non-too gently loaded out of the caravans pulled along with painful tugs by their chains. Now Sakura understood why Kiba never got a dog leash for Akamaru. Sakura also heard a whip and did her best not to cringe in disgust, she didn't want to draw any more attention than necessary, at least not right now.

"Come on we don't have all day!"

"There are more coming,"

"We might have gone a little overboard."

"Hey the more slaves we have for Lady Madaura, the better we get paid!"

'Greedy pigs,'

* * *

When Sakura stepped into the room, she knew they had had been taken somewhere underground, the entire room built of dark rock, lit with torches because there wasn't a single opening for sunlight to reach it, there were large cages all around-big enough to fit a few people in. Everyone was roughly pulled into a line that was moving at a steady pace. It was only a few minutes later that Sakura heard a voice laced with boredom, going 'this one, this one, no, this one, no, no' and so on. Though curious Sakura kept her lips tightly sealed, she did not want to in anyway provoke these people.

When Sakura heard the rustlings of chains she looked up and saw certain people's chains being removed, separating into two groups, most who had their chains removed were children, and some of them had been with her in the caravan. She had heard that some parents actually sold their children, she despised that thought. Why someone would do something like that…

Another rough tug on the chains had Sakura stumbling forward with the rest of the people she was attached too.

"They're all old! Might as well ship them out now, don't waste my time!"

Sakura had noticed she was put with an older group, there wasn't anyone that was near her age group; they were all either children or adults but none adolescent.

"Hold on Fatima!" she heard one of the men call hurriedly "There is one-

"I said don't waste my time!"

"But look at this one! I promise you won't regret this." the man persisted and Sakura realized he was pointing directly at her before walking to the front where he continued to argue with whoever it was at the front of this line. Sakura became tense, she knew the kind of jobs slaves would have and it was especially worrisome for girls…of course she would never allow anyone to try that because she castrated them with her bare hands-something she was very capable of.

"Please,"

She heard a frustrated grunt and then footsteps moving closer towards her, her eyes immediately went to the ground but then she felt a sharp smack to her head.

"Hey look up girl!"

Swallowing her anger Sakura looked up, a deep frown on her face, eyes hard as stone, unafraid.

A boy, barely a few years older than Sakura herself with long white hair and sharp cruel eyes, he wore a white drab with a fur pelt around his waist held by a gold belt, even though she could see the whip in his hands he was wearing a collar but it was different from the ones she had seen before, other slaves collars weren't as polished and a bit rusted but not his.

"Heh, you actually found something worth your over-pay," he said looking at Sakura, his eyes lingered on her "….okay, cut her loose and put her with the other's."

Sakura felt the chain attached to the collar around her neck being removed before she was pulled out of line and put with the group of children, her heart wrenched as she listened and watched them cry. She leaned down, crouching with her hands on her knees.  
"Hey guys come on," Sakura shushed them looking over at the people carrying whips, she didn't' want them to turn their attention in their direction. The few who recognized her, immediately ran up to her and she had to hold out her arms as if creating a barrier between them and the slave merchants.

"Be brave," Sakura told them

"The rest can get shipped off,"

There was more crying being heard but it was coming from the other side of the room, she saw the whifte haired boy hovering over the children with a deep frown on his face as he ordered them to stop crying, she didn't know what he was expecting, who would be happy about being sold into slavery and treated like property despite the fact that they were just as human as those who believed they 'owned' them.

"Shut up!" he screamed and was about to bring his whip down-only for his wrist to be caught by another hand.

"Fatima, can you let me handle this?" a very familiar voice asked causing Sakura's form to go rigid.

….

….

….

….

….

….

…..

….

….

…..

"Sinbad…" she breathed softly.

Sakura's eyes widened, at first she didn't want to believe it was him, but that long purple hair and gold eyes were unmistakable, his skin was pale, his hair which was usually tied in a ponytail hanged loose around him and his eyes….even from this distance Sakura could see they had lost their natural shine of determination which he used to draw those close to him, there was no longer the excited fluttering around him either….as if he no longer existed.

Her realization of just how bad the situation became all the more clearer in the most horrible way as the boy known as Fatima walked away telling Sinbad to 'do what he wants'. She didn't take her eyes off and as the situation progressed the more Sakura began to understand what Yunan meant when he said Sinbad was not 'the same'.

"Listen up, you guys are already 'slaves'."

Sakura gasped in disbelief, her joy for seeing Sinbad even in his current condition faded.

"Slaves are property, as things, they can be bought and sold and would no longer have any humans rights. So you need to…be quiet, behave and be good children. If you can be good children, there won't be any reason to whip you. If you keep your body unscarred, then you can be bought by someone from a good place. You might even catch the eye of my master, Lady Madaura. You don't want to be hurt even more than you already are right?"

The children's cries died down and they silently began following in line, more obedient though not entirely content more like understanding defat. Sakura shook her head in disbelief, she hadn't been gone that long had she? Was this really Sinbad? The same Sinbad who wanted to change the world? He was dressed exactly as Fatima and a few other slaves carrying whips. The wave of shock that washed over her was so big it engulfed her entire body, rendering her paralyzed. She didn't even listen to the conversation that went on between Sinbad and Fatima.

Several claps echoed through the room, Sakura ignored it but when she heard the voice, a soft and sickly sweet voice-so similar to Gyokuen's she brought herself to look up. There was a women, walking over to Sinbad and Fatima, the sclera of her eyes were dark and her pupils light, she had long dark purple hair, a different shade from Sinbad's and not as vibrant and much more wavy.

"Wonderful, you really thought things through Sinbad."

"Lady Madaura!" Fatima called, his voice now laced with excitement equivalent to a child's and in complete contrast with his previous tone.

"It seems like the job of head slave suit's you. As expected, it was a good idea to leave it to you!" Madaura praised Sinbad.

Sakura's head shot up, had she heard right? Head slave? Sinbad was a head slave? It wasn't a term she was familiar with but from what she had just witnessed she could understand the context of it. The women in front of them as well, Madaura they called her, Sakura knew she was the one in charge of….Sakura looked around in disgust, all of this and to think Sinbad referred to her as his master. She hoped for a minute that none of this was real, that she was dreaming or somehow got herself trapped in a world parallel to this one, that way she could take comfort in knowing this Sinbad wasn't 'her' Sinbad but her logical side took over a bit too soon and Sakura knew that this was all real.

She continued to glare at the women as she praised Sinbad and spoke to him in that same 'sweet' voice.

' _It's her fault!'_

Sakura wanted nothing more than to go over there right now and tear through that women's heart with her bare fist a she knew she could do it too…but when she looked back at Sinbad, who had a slight smile on his face as he spoke to her all thoughts of that left her. She was here for one reason and now a simple rescue mission seemed to have far more complications than she thought.

'If I just took him back by force…'

" _Sakura, thank you for everything.'_

Her heart constricted in a painfully familiar way-she felt as if she was making the same mistakes all over again as she realized something, a terrible fact-Sinbad was gone, he had left and what now stood was an empty shell of a man she once knew.

Sinbad then made an announcement for everyone to reframe from using the whips on everyone, but it was of little comfort to Sakura knowing that there wasn't that big a change in the situation. These people would still be slaves at the end of it but what really frustrated her was that Sinbad knew that too and he wasn't doing anything about it. He was the one who was so passionate about changing the world so much he swept up everyone he met-including her and now to see him like this…

Madaura then turned around, her eyes falling on the children who were gathered together and walked over to them with a smile. Sakura did her best to mask her disdain for the women that had gotten closer to her but it was no easy task, a natural response or rather typical response would have been to leap at the women and savagely attempt to rip her to shreds until her anger was sated but she reframed, her face holding nothing to be used against her but her eyes were as hard as ever.

Soft footsteps came to a halt and Madaura's voice rang with a soft echo, everything seemed to fall silent all except for the soft cries of the children who were hiding behind Sakura. She leaned passed Sakura and towards one of the children-a young boy and brushed his face along with his tears.

"Now, now there is no need to cry," she said

The children quieted, the warmth in her voice beginning to envelope them, while Sakura watched and she witnessed something very strange.

Madaura then turned to a little girl (the same girl Sakura had comforted before) and picked her up, her arms wrapping around her in a motherly manner nearly causing Sakura to frown. "You don't have to be afraid anymore, because from now on I am going to take care of you,"

Her eyes then landed directly on Sakura who kept her stoic expression, though internally she felt differently.

"All of you."

Sakura heard the fluttering around her, the rukh had stirred do to the children but Sakura still revealed nothing but she did not like the look in this women's eyes. Past Madaura she glanced at Sinbad as she was lead out of the room along with the other's, she wanted to scream out to him and yet she didn't.

'He might not even hear me.'

And she meant that in more ways than one.

* * *

" _AHA so this is where you were!" Sakura accused pointing her finger downwards toward a near-passed out Sinbad leaning against a tree trunk, his hair loose and his eyes only half open, scattered around him were two bottles of ale along with a plate of half eaten rice balls. Sinbad waved mechanically at her, a bright smile on his face._

" _Oh hey *hick* Sakura…."_

 _Taking several aggressive footsteps forward until within an arms-length Sakura reached forward to pull Sinbad up by the collar of his shirt and drag him all the way back to the company. She grimaced when she smelt the alcohol on his breath, she didn't get how he could possibly enjoy something like that._

" _Aww, come on Sakura…" Sinbad whined, his words slurred._

" _Shut up you idiot, you are supposed to be working not hiding out getting wasted. Honestly I was half expecting you to be in a pub or entertainment facility."_

 _That was were Ja'far and Hinahoho went to look for him anyway but Sakura decided to check the last place anyone would think to find him and lucky her…_

" _T-That would be the first place you'd look." Sinbad countered leaning all of his weight back causing Sakura to stumble, he grinned, snaking his foot in between hers and swiping it under her, causing her to fall right on top of him. If he wasn't drunk Sinbad would have known that his actions were a bad idea. As Sakura raised her head, she failed to see Sinbad's one hand sneaking slowly towards a half empty cup of ale._

" _Sinbad YOU-_

 _Before anymore was said a bitter taste dance across Sakura's tongue and a burning sensation began in her throat after she swallowed the contents of the little cup Sinbad had tilted into her mouth, she pulled back releasing him from her iron grasp, throwing her head back._

" _So bitter!" she spat tilting her head forward to glare at Sinbad, wiping her chin. Sinbad threw his head back laughing._

" _You-You really haven't had alcohol before huh!?"_

 _Sakura could have gone her whole life without drinking, she honestly didn't see the appeal. Tsunade told her it was the best way to unwind from a tough day but Sakura decided that an overflown tub of warm water, bubbles and scented candles along with a platter of sweets was more than enough to unwind her-not drinking something that caused you to throw up the next morning and feeling like there was a guy with a hammer inside your head trying to escape._

" _Y-you…." Sakura slurred, she squinted when she began to see two Sinbad's (as if one already wasn't enough)_

 _Again Sinbad tipped a freshly poured glass, a lot more than last time and lifted it to Sakura's mouth forcing her to drink as she futilely attempted to swat at his hand holding the cup. She stumbled back losing her footing, now flat on her back, starring at the sky._

" _Si-S-Sinbad….you, you, stupid…*hick*"_

" _Come on Sakura, is that all you got?" Sinbad laughed_

 _Suddenly Sakura had the feeling he wasn't as drunk as he made her believe he was, that idea slipped away though._

" _Shut up, stupid jerk. You made me worry about you again!"_

 _There was a small shifting of dirt before Sinbad leaned over Sakura, hands on either side of her head. "You were worried about me?"_

" _Of *hick* COURSE." She closed her eyes, "I was looking all over for you…*hick*"_

 _Sinbad smiled gently "Well Thanks for finding me Sakura, I'll be sure to get lost more often."_

 _A glare returned to the pinkette's face as she pushed Sinbad away, standing up with sea legs and began swaying as she walked away ignoring Sinbad's calls for her._

" _Where you going?"_

" _HOME."_

' _Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid….' Sakura once believed she was using that word more to describe Sinbad than she has ever used it to describe Naruto._

 _Tears brimmed the corners of her eyes, she said she was going home; that was a stupid choice of words even in her alcohol driven state. Her home was so far away she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to remember it. Then she thought about leaving this world, all the people she had met, gone…._

 _Her thoughts vanished when she fell forward, foot catching on an uprooted root and losing whatever balance she had left. Sakura kept her eyes sealed shut as she rolled down hill, her arms trying to reach out for something while she failed to notice the end of the steep hill she was reaching with a drop that would prove to be fatal._

 _However, once she reached the end she managed to dig her fingers into the edge, although the soil was dangerously soft._

" _ **MY KING." Beleth called**_

 _The soil broke apart from its larger structure and Sakura felt that familiar churning in her stomach whenever she was falling, her drunk state of mind wasn't helping to gather herself, in fact it was only slowing her reaction time down._

" _SAKURA"_

 _She closed her eyes, the fall would most likely hurt but it wouldn't kill her but it was definitely going to take some serious healing once she was sober-medical ninjutsu took extreme chakra control it wasn't something you could use drunk-unless you were Tsunade…_

 _She knew the ground was closer now, but something wrapped around her, encasing her arms, head on something hard yet also soft and warm but she couldn't open her eyes before the thud, an audible crack, a scream and then….nothing._

…

…

…

…

…

Inhaling deeply, the steam surrounding Sakura as she washed away three full days' worth of dirt and grime from her body, able to see her skins true complexion again, she realized how pale she was. Her hair now stuck to her body in an uncomfortable manner. She listened to the other small splashes around her that came from the other children who were also bathing.

Sakura and the rest of the children had been taken to a washroom; a large steamed up room with a big bath and not much else where they were able to clean all the grim and dirt that had become attached during their time at sea despite how any people there were there, everyone was silent, not knowing what to expect. Sakura didn't know what to expect either, she had seen Sinbad and while his physical condition was better than anticipated, mentally she wasn't so sure. Sinbad was a human being with many flaws but he had many qualities and ambitions that gave him a strong sense of purpose-something many lacked.

'So what could have made him surrender those ambitions?'

She hoped to get the answer soon.

"Alright listen up, you lot have been handpicked by me to become high class slaves. From now on you are going to stay here with Lady Madaura to train and further educate yourself so you better not disappoint or I'll ship you off myself. You must do everything to please Lady Madaura, do not disrespect her, she is now your mother." Fatima said in a harsh tone, glaring down at the group.

Sakura bit her tongue to withhold all comments, the silver collar around her neck was annoyingly tight and she was sure when she removed it there would be a bruise, her new hair was irritating; always tickling her skin and the simple worn out dress she wore before was dirty but the replacement did not make her feel any warmer as it was a two pieces of white material covering her chest and lower half, she was also shackled at her ankles (no drop kicks from her for a while).

Fingers wrapped around the shining collar, the metal was cold to the touch.

'Now, what should I do?' Sakura wondered

Fatima turned to Sakura, his eyes hard as ever "You; what's your name?"

Sakura looked up, emerald green eyes glaring back causing Fatima's expression to waver before it hardened again trying to hold face with her. "Answer me!"

Tight lips moved very little but a clearly audible voice emitted from them "Sumire,"

"Lady Madaura wants to see you right away, get up."

Despite the urge to deny, Sakura stood up without hesitance or fear on her face, she needed to know _exactly_ what was going on with Sinbad and there was no better way she could think of than meeting the main instigator. She walked up to Fatima, her chains brushing against each other until she was a few inches away, continuing to stare right at the boy with hard eyes and a blank expression saying nothing…

* * *

"Ah so this is one of my new children!"

Sakura observed, Madaura with a calm expression, the women was seated behind a finely carved wooden desk with gold trimmings, her office decorated to give off a sense of elegance prior to nobility, the curtains straight and clean, the walls appeared freshly painted but did not reek of the odor that came with it, the rug beneath her feet was plush and Sakura resisted to urge to scrunch her toes, the selves of scrolls were stacked neatly at the back of the room.

There was a boy standing beside Madaura with an equally stoic expression on his face, looking at Sakura with a scrutinizing gaze, examining her every move as if he was ready for her to try and attack-which was good instinct but Sakura did not intend on doing anything that would ruin her plans and put everyone else in danger that included Sinbad.

"Sumire, what a beautiful name."

Sakura remained silent, starring at Madaura, her voice and expression, it seemed contradictory to Sakura, unfitting for a women who was a slave merchant. Sakura also did not enjoy that smile she was given, it was a stitched on smile-fake and removable with a simple pull at the thread.

And Sakura was picking at them slowly.

"Tell me Sumire, where did you come from?" Madaura asked

While she was sure the silent treatment would give her a painful but possibly entertaining response Sakura decided to answer.

"Far,"

She also chose to be vague.

Madaura's hands that there settled on the desk, intertwined together visibly tightened. There was a lot that Sakura discovered and observed about Sinbad, one of them was that he was incredibly charming but what she had witnessed down there was Sinbad the one being charmed. She also knew that Sinbad was persistent and operated a certain way, he hardly ever become hostile unless the situation called for it. He also had no problem enchanting others to get what he wants, but for him to be as he was now, it must not have worked. This women called all of them her children, an interesting twist to define her slaves but she saw that Madaura knew how to charm the children, but Sakura wasn't going to get any answers from her like this.

"Oh and how did you end up here?"

"If I am here that answer should be obvious,"

Sakura's tone was unchanging, unwavering and blank, sealing the hate within her words so they wouldn't seep out so it sounded.

The boy's voice cut through, sharp "Hey show respect to Lady Madaura,"

"Now, now Kil," Madaura soothed "There are natural responses to new children and adolescents especially, they are in that rebellious faze right? They just need their mother's hand to guide them."

'Mother huh?' Sakura thought, wanting to scoff,

"After all look at Sinbad," Madaura pointed at Kil "He was my most disobedient child yet, always behaving like he knew better, as if he was grown up."

"Yes Lady Madaura," Kil nodded softly before looking at Sakura "After he received all that punishment he finally started obeying Lady Madaura."

One of the most frustrating feelings, is when you are unable to act on them and Sakura was reaching a new level of frustration. There was a crack in her mask, she was beginning to put the pieces together and with every piece that fell into place the more horrifying and vivid the image was becoming but it was still on the base of imagination. There were still other pieces she needed to put into place.

"But of course, a mother does not enjoy punishing her children." Madaura said looking back to Sakura, a smile graced her lips. "All I want is one word of apology and then you can return to your other siblings, the new ones like you especially."

It was a simple request and perhaps if she did it then she would be able to go back with the rest of the children, but Sakura wanted a clearer picture of what had happened to Sinbad, she wanted it vividly transparent, in order to work her way to figuring out how to bring him back-there was another reason but it was not one she would think about because it was a bit illogical.

"How about three words-No fucking way."

* * *

A slam echoed through the large hallway, the large silver door shut with a heavy thud, it was so finely sealed there wasn't a crack for light to pass through, and luckily the room had a small window high on top, too far for any human to reach without a ladder. Sakura waited until the footsteps were gone before she began inspecting the room, although there wasn't much to inspect. The room was decent sized, the walls made of iron. The chamber slowly filled with water but it barely passed her ankles before it stopped, so whatever methods of drowning torture Sakura thought were going to be inflicted went down the drain with the rest of the water.

Still her suspicious did not wave as she remembered what Madaura said before she was taken to this chamber.

" _HOW DARE YOU-INSOLENT BRAT, PERHAPS THE SAME PUNISHEMENT WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON AS WELL."_

'She said the same punishment,' Sakura thought, who else could she be talking about but Sinbad? The other children were all so young, they were easy to influence but Sakura was older and more aware. The case would be the same with Sinbad-especially with Sinbad.

A powerful shiver ran up Sakura's spine, she saw her breath coming out of her mouth and she realized how cold it was becoming.

"Now I get it," Sakura breathed looking at her bare feet touching the water. The water was going to drop her temperature and the build of this chamber was obviously meant to insulate the cold while keeping the heat out. Having studied conditions of hypothermia Sakura knew that when you first plummet into cold water your body would go into a shocked response, people begin hyperventilating which makes it difficult to get air into your lungs leading to panic and further hyperventilation. This can trigger cardiac arrest, more so it causes major psychological stress.

'That must be the point though,'

After a few minutes the muscles in the limbs become affected, neuromuscular activity slows. The effects starts in the hands. Sakura held up her hands, they were already beginning to shake.

It was honestly a genius method of torture because physically the body would become so cold a person would believe they were going to die but that wouldn't be very likely considering the water was so low, the effects would be prolonged but they wouldn't be able to tell the difference and it would cause more physical trauma than anything else. Even a mild case of hypothermia would diminish a victims physical and mental abilities.

'She'll probably keep me in here for a while,' Sakura thought, sitting down crossed legs she closed her eyes, chakra was useful for a great deal of things and it gave you more control over your bodies energies, so Sakura would be able to control her body temperature from dramatically dropping, slowing it down but more so it was for the sake of her mentality, she was not going to give into the psychological torture of this.

* * *

 _Her vision blurred for a few moments before finally coming into focus, everything was familiar and she knew she was in her room, for a split second she wondered if the fall was a dream but pain spread slowly through her body and she knew it wasn't. She touched her head with a bandage wrapped around and then her arm and leg wrapped up, it was painful but nothing felt broken._

 _Beside her bed, her djinn metal vessel lied, Beleth reacted_ _ **"My king are you alright?"**_

" _I've been worse." Sakura replied stepping out of bed carefully, her head was pounding but she wasn't sure if it was due to the fall or the hangover she had from only have that little bit of ale…._

" _Sinbad!"_

 _Ignoring her djinn's calls she slammed the door open and left, making her way to Sinbad's room. When she reached the door she heard several voices but still stepped in to see Ja'far, Hinahoho and Rurumu standing around Sinbad's bed and lying there unconscious Sinbad._

" _Sakura!"_

" _You're awake!" Ja'far cried in relief._

" _You should still be in bed!" said Rurumu_

 _Walking passed all of them, her own pain forgotten, relief filled when she saw Sinbad's chest moving steadily under the blanket which Sakura started to move away to further examine him, his one arm was wrapped tightly-probably broken, both of his legs as well giving how tightly they were wrapped._

' _He's alive…'_

" _He's been unconscious for hours," Ja'far said coming up to her_

" _The both of you," Rurumu added._

 _Reaching forward, Sakura rested her hand on Sinbad's cheek, glowing light green as her hand rand down his face, his neck, his chest and stopping to repair any internal damage, she could feel any physical abnormalities within his body._

" _You should rest Sakura," Hinahoho said "You are injured yourself."_

 _Sakura didn't remove her hand and instead place the other over, she wouldn't stop, not until he was fully healed._

" _He saved me,"_

 _The simple three word statement was enough to make the message clear to her comrades, she wasn't going anywhere and no one dared to argue with her after._

 _Hours went by but Sakura had not stopped to rest, healing Sinbad on a continuous loop, determined. Only later in the night after everyone had turned in did Sakura stop treatment, only after did she remember her hunger and fatigue._

 _Wiping her forehead did very little to remove the large beads of sweat, sitting down on the small stool beside the bed, elbows on her knees and hands clasped tightly together her eyes closed. This was one of the worst parts of being a medic, the wait to see the results of their efforts because it was something to be careful of; when someone else's life rested in your hands it was always daunting waiting for the final conclusion, even if you succeed in your procedures, it is a slow torture to wait for your patient to awaken._

" _Please, please," she whispered softly "Wake up already, you idiot or I swear I'll never forgive you."_

 _A deep and strained chuckle echoed through the room, Sakura's head shot up, Sinbad laid in bed, eyes half lidded with a smirk on his face._

" _You really have a way with words don't you?"_

" _You're awake," Sakura breathed_

" _Well your threats were worrying me,"_

 _Sakura narrowed her eyes and she appeared as if she was going to come back with her own retort of strife but instead her eyes softened and glossed with tears, her top half fell on the bed, relief filling her._

" _Don't," Sakura whispered "Don't ever do that again,"_

" _Don't' do what again?" Sinbad asked, his hand trailing along her back to her beck and her hair in a gentle caress._

" _Don't ever save me again," Sakura said, her voice reassuring her claim. Sinbad's hand stopped moving and he withdrew it, but then Sakura's head was tilted up by her chin, making her stare into golden eyes. Sinbad's face had gone hard, now frowning with concern._

" _Why would you say that?"_

 _Sakura's head pulled away, she wiped her eyes "Just promise me you won't save me ever again."_

" _No," Sinbad said, his statement blunt and true._

" _Sinbad-_

" _No Sakura," Sinbad snapped "I am not going to promise you that because should the time come when I have the option to save you again I am going to break it."_

 _Sakura turned away from him, her arms crossed over her chest "You're a fool, risking your life for mine."  
_

" _And why wouldn't I!?" Sinbad snapped, his voice harsh, angered by the pinkette's words that settled deep within his chest creating a dull ache that continued to fester and grow._

" _Because I am not one of you!" Sakura retorted spinning back to face Sinbad "Look at you! You could have died and for what?! Nothing!"_

 _Sinbad didn't seem to approve of her gesture towards herself, "Don't say that," his voice grew softer "Please Sakura, why would you say that?"_

 _Gripping her hair tightly, she shook "I am sick of other people sticking their necks out for my sake, I don't need you to do that for me, I don't want you make any more sacrifices for my sake!"_

 _There was more to what she said and Sinbad knew it, this pink haired girl who had joined him only a few months ago, nearly the same time he had met all of this current comrades, he had closed the distance between them, created a bridge of trust but with Sakura it was different, that bridge was still narrow and if he overstepped, she wouldn't hesitate to break that bridge and he didn't want that to happen. He would do anything to stop that bridge from collapsing. She has always been vague and shrouded and Sinbad chose to respect that but if it was going to put their relationship at risk, he was willing to do anything to fix it._

" _Sakura…I-_

The darkness filled with light, a picture began to form, she felt a warm wrapped around her, arms wrapped around her, stroking her head, waking her up from the dream, her memory. She saw a fire burning widely in front of her and a tale with foot set, still steaming indicating it was still warm. A light pat of her head, nearly had her leaning in and then she recalled. Sakura's eyes travelled up to Madaura's face starring down at her, smiling still. She hadn't noticed how much time went by before she passed out; she could only guess how many hours it had been but meditating had allowed her to keep focus away from the cold and keep her mind strong, preventing panic.

"Oh my dear, you are freezing,"Madaura continued to smooth out her hair "You must have felt so helpless in there right, don't worry mother's here now."

Pressed against Madaura's chest, a smile formed on Sakura's lips but it was not of amusement or anything pertaining to delight, only conclusion with a hint of grim. 'Now I understand…'

Pulling back, Sakura removed the blanket around her, standing up. "What crap are you babbling now? You are not my mother."

Those few short sentences were enough to get her thrown back into the same holding cell, water filled to her ankles and then the process repeated, While Sakura sat in the prison she took the time to meditate and think, doing everything to take her mind off the cold, this was what prevented her from falling to the same darkness as other's before her obviously have. Sakura picked up on Madaura's game quickly as time went on. Her mind remained sharp because she knew Madaura was trying to break it, in order to break her.

'Just like she broke Sinbad,'

She figured out the method and reason of breaking her, wearing her down with 'punishments', Sakura came to realize the purpose behind them were for total submission not in the sense of fear but in the sense of total loyalty and devotion to Madaura. She obviously had that influence on all of the other children, but they were young, more helpless and very impressionable, their minds were not able to see things as clearly as she or Sinbad would because they were not quite 'children'; they were teenagers, rebellious children on the verge of adulthood, it was difficult to sway the hearts and minds of them, to show any kind of devotion to those they were not familiar with, especially someone who referred to them as children when they thought of themselves as adults. That was where Sakura pieced the punishment in.

Sakura smiled as she sat in the water with her legs crossed, her body ceased to shiver and that could only mean one thing…

"I'll see you soon, idiot king."

* * *

A week had passed by-Sakura knew because she kept track of her days and in that time she had been in a kind of solitary confinement, disallowed from interacting with anyone else expect Madaura who would come to her chambers-a small room with a bed and a barred window. Her meals were brought to her and after she would sleep for a little while before Madaura would visit her in the morning, her voice as sickly sweet and a smile just as.

Sakura's eyes opened, showing very little emotion she watched as Madaura placed a tray on the bed.

"Look what your mother has brought you my dear. I've had it specially made for you." Madaura said taking the spoon and stirring the delectable smelling food before holding it out to Sakura's lips. Sakura pulled her head back.

"I can feed myself," Sakura said "I'm not cripple."

Just as Sakura expected the tray along with her meal was sent flying through the air, landing on the floor, Sakura stared blankly at Madaura who sneered, face twisted in fury.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK THAT WAY," Madaura screamed.

Sakura heard the footsteps coming towards the room and that only meant one thing in her case.

'Guess it's time for my punishment,'

It would be considered a bit sick, but a certain relief filled Sakura when she was punished, sitting in that isolated room alone, eating little to nothing, risking hypothermia and so forth but with every mark, scratch, wound, loss of breath she had, another portion of relief settled in. She had been away from so long, away from Sinbad when he was taken as a slave. The guilt that was eating away at her like a poison was being removed via the bitter cure that came through her punishment, every time she endured the torture she thought about what Sinbad must have gone through for a much longer time, while she continued on, oblivious. She knew there wasn't any logic behind this, but at the same time it made sense to Sakura.

* * *

" _Sakura...I didn't save you for your sake or because I felt obligated in any way," Sinbad said looking at the trembling pinkette, she looked up at him._

" _I did it for myself," Sinbad stated_

 _Sakura gasped softly "What do you…?"_

" _I did it for me." Sinbad said reaching towards Sakura, managing to grasp her wrist and pull her forward till she was sitting on the bed. "I don't want to lose you and if it means jumping off a cliff to save you I'll do it. If it's for you I think I can do just about anything!"_

 _Sinbad smiled brightly up at Sakura but the pinkette was struck speechless, a light blush spreading all the way down her neck before she disappeared._

" _Sakura?" Sinbad blinked in disbelief_

" _STUPID SINBAD."_

 _Sakura leaned against the door of Sinbad's room, breathing softly, her heart pounding in her chest, she could feel it when she put her hand over it as she replayed his words and only one thing came to mind._

' _Why?'_

* * *

Sakura smiled, those were one of the memories she had put to the back of her mind after she left for nearly two years. Sakura winced as she felt herself being lowered from her restraints on her wrists, she had been forced to stand on the tips of her toes for hours for if she lost balance bonds would be painful supporting her weight, of course she had held up but Sakura noticed a while ago that her punishments were varying to the point where it would be considered actual torture. Sakura had read up on the many different methods of torture but most of them included permanent damage however none of Madaura's methods seemed to fall under that bar.

'Because you can't make profit on damaged goods,' Sakura thought.

* * *

"Lady Madaura," Kil called his master, placing another pile of scrolls on the side of her desk. He looked at her, leaning over the table, her hand writing on a piece of paper with a fine quilt, but he could tell by looking at her eyes that her mind was somewhere else, she was troubled and that was not something he wanted to see. He cared dearly for his beloved 'mother' and wanted her troubles to cease.

"What is it Kil?" Madaura asked

"You are troubled," Kil said

Madaura sighed, putting her pen down and leaning back in her chair, her long hair cascading down her back in waves. "It's Sumire, she is yet to be accepted as one of my children."

"Yes, but it has taken a longer time with Sinbad." Kil pointed out, he hadn't forgotten how much trouble the former dungeon conqueror and merchant had been, it had taken weeks to break him and then for Lady Madaura to build him back up to become her child and now there was also Sumire to deal with who was about the same age.

"Yes but Sinbad had been doing his best to avoid punishment from the beginning while Sumire appears to welcome it, it feels as though she sees it as a purpose for herself and I cannot have that. This means she will not be broken by any form of punishment I give her. I need her to become devoted to me from the bottom of her heart."

Kil narrowed his eyes "What do you have in mind Lady Madaura?"

A sly smile spread across the women's face "It is time to take another approach."

 **Alright now this will definitely be all until I finish writing my exams, which ends the 15** **th** **of July, so you can look out for the next chapter after this date.**

 **Don't forget to review.**


	25. Sumire-a new approach

**Alright hey everyone, I know it's still a long way off from the 17** **th** **of July but I'm writing my last two papers the next two days and I wanted to get this posted up as soon as possible. I would also like to add that there are two new art works on my profile for this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

"What the hell do you want?" Sakura asked, impolite and brash in both tone and words, looking at the unexpected visitor to her little chamber of isolation, standing right outside the door was the head slave-Fatima as she recalled stood in front of her and he looked even less pleased that her, with a scowl marring his features.

"Guess Lady Madaura was right, you really don't have any respect. No wonder you've gotten so much punishment."

Sakura appeared impassive, arms crossed. "Are you going to get to the point?"

Fatima clicked his tongue, eyes layered with disgust as he looked at her, stepping to the back "Come with me and don't speak."

Sakura did not ask questions and simply followed after him, she never asked any questions or said much of anything when people came to collect her but in this case Fatima was a new face and he was leading her further away from the punishment chambers. They passed further down the hallway until they reached a flight of stairs Sakura had not gone up for an entire week. If anyone looked at her they'd find it a miracle she could walk straight or that she did not trip over the chains on her ankles, given the bruises red and purple dancing across her legs and arms, her face appeared shallow but her eyes, they still shone like emeralds, a fierceness within them, a fire that refused to be extinguished.

* * *

Coming back to the familiar room of cages and cries of slaves about to be shipped away, Sakura became worried, there wouldn't be any other reason to bring her here unless of course it was to ship her off as well. Her hands tightened in a strong grip, chakra ready to pour in through them and break her chains. If it was really going to come to this, then she was going to abandon her previous plans and fight her way to-

"Sinbad!" Fatima called, hand on his hip, impatient.

Sakura lowered her head, allowing her bangs to cascade down her face, covering her eyes completely, when she saw the extra pair of boots now in front of her, she knew he was there now.

"Yes?" Sinbad asked, he was holding several scrolls in his arms.

Fatima pointed at Sakura, his voice now holding clear authority and a sense of superiority. "Lady Madaura has requested you to take care of this girl."

Sinbad stared back at Fatima, his face impassive but eyes holding surprise. "Me?"

"Of course Sinbad," Madaura's familiar voice echoed through the large room, she began making her way down the stair case leading up, her slave Kil by her side as usual. Sakura could feel Madaura behind her but Sakura remained silent not once raising her head to pear into the eyes of anyone.

"Lady Madaura!" Fatima smiled in delight at the sight of his master.

"She has been very disobedient and does not respond to punishment as I had hoped, therefore I have decided it would be best to place her in your care," Madaura explained smiling at Sinbad.

Sinbad blinked wildly, "My care, why is that Lady Madaura?"

Fatima scowled, growling at Sinbad "Don't questions Lady Madaura!"

Usually he wouldn't but this was very unusual and too surprising for Sinbad.

Stepping away from Sakura, Madaura stood in front of Sinbad wrapping her arms around him and Sinbad appeared to relish in the feeling while Sakura held herself back from screaming out her disgust for the situation and Fatima sneered at Sinbad with jealousy

"You've become such a good boy Sinbad, I think you will be a very good influence on her, she will also be rooming with you and the other children from now on."

Placing her hand on his cheek, she spoke in a gentle, sweet voice of praise "Take care of your sister for me alright Sinbad?"

Sinbad smiled wider "Yes Lady Madaura…."

Fatima spoke in an embarrassed, flustered stutter "Um, Lady Madaura...I-

Madaura looked back at Fatima, her eyes narrowed, the gentle features morphed "Oh Fatima, you're still here? I didn't notice."

Turning back to Sinbad she greeted the boy, before stepping away from Sakura and going back up the stairs then the loud, irritated stomps of Fatima grew soft as he turned the corner leaving Sinbad to deal with Sakura.

"What's your name?" asked Sinbad after a long moment of silence.

"Sumire." Sakura responded blankly.

"That translates to violet, it doesn't seem to suit you." Sinbad said, his voice holding nothing to offend to compliment.

"It's a colour that annoyingly haunts me." Sakura stated, still not lifting her head to look into his eyes, she had seen how blank they were from a distance, she knew she would have a difficult time holding herself back if she saw them this close.

"Well, uh," Sinbad began, he sounded awkward which was odd given he never got tongue tied when dealing with women-but that had been another time and under different circumstances. "Let's get going."

"Fine." Sakura responded, moving before Sinbad to leave but she did not miss the hateful glare filled with animosity directed at Sinbad as they left.

'I hope this won't be a problem,'

* * *

Suffocating silence followed the pair and threatened to close in on them as Sakura and Sinbad walked together, despite how close they appeared to the naked eye, they were far apart. It was the first time Sakura actually walked through the building that wasn't leading to a torture chamber, it was like a palace on the inside as well. The halls held by pillars leading to wider spaces for viewing the outside as far as she could see.

"Are you hungry?" asked Sinbad

It was somewhat amusing that he would choose to destroy the silence by asking something like that but none the less Sakura chose to respond with a simple nod.

"I just need to hand these in and then I'll show you to the common room where you can get something to eat."

Instead of giving a verbal response Sakura nodded again and then continued to look ahead of her, she had waited for this opportunity but approaching it was still something of hesitance because of Sinbad's current condition, how he would react to her being here and then there was still Madaura that added to the problem. While she did not know the details there had to be a reason that Sindria trading company could not get their leader back and there had to a be a reason that force was not an option. If it was in any way going to lead to the undoing of everything Sinbad had strived to achieve then Sakura knew she could not take a direct approach without causing an uproar. She put Sinbad's position into consideration.

'I can leave this world, he can't.'

Sakura was going to find another way to free Sinbad without it giving him any grief after, how was another matter.

"So, you've been….punished?" Sinbad asked looking over Sakura, her marred skin but it was nothing that wouldn't heal over time.

"Yes," Sakura replied, giving away little.

"I know how that feels…." Sinbad's expression seemed to grow solemn "Well, at least Lady Madaura said she was going to stop and I'm sure in time Lady Madaura will accept you full as her child, aren't you glad about that?"

"I couldn't care any less," she bluntly replied, bitter words falling from her lips.

Sinbad gasped, "B-but aren't you afraid of being punished? I-I've also been-

"You don't need to explain it to me." Sakura cut him off, gritting her teeth, despite knowing what Sinbad had gone through she did not want to hear him give her disclosure on it. The discomforting guilt would begin to stir in her again if he told her about it.

"But-

"No." Sakura snapped.

The scraping of chains on the stone floors broke the silence that had fallen once again, Sakura and Sinbad saw a tiny figure covered in red, decorating his path with the blood that fell off of him. Sakura recognised the boy instantly, the Fanalis that had defeated Sinbad. Getting a closer look at him, he couldn't have been older than eight. Unlike the other slaves (excluding the head slaves) the chains on his legs were connected to two balls of weights but Sakura new that it was because of his strength.

'Is that really all it takes to hold him?' she wondered.

"Masrur!" Sinbad called hurrying over to him, he didn't' even seem fazed by the giant sword he was holding with one tiny hand. "You're all covered in blood, are you alright!?"

Masrur nodded "It's not mine."

"Hold on," Sinbad said rushing off somewhere.

Sakura looked over Masrur, moving her hair out of her face to look him in the eyes, even covered in red, his red hair and eyes stood out from the blood splatters, a different tone, he looked at Sakura with a blank expression which she returned with a smile.

Not long after Sinbad returned with a towel in hand, placing it over Masrur's head he began wiping off the blood.

Sinbad then turned back to Sakura who lowered her head again "Oh yes, Masrur this is Sumire, Lady Madura has placed her in my care, she'll be rooming with us from now on as well. Sumire this is Masrur."

"Hello." Sakura replied, a hint of a smile hidden beneath her hair.

"Hello." Masrur responded.

"I heard that since my appearance in the arena your matches have gotten more extreme with giant monsters as your opponents but, this really something. Aren't you tired of it?" Sinbad asked returning to wiping off the blood.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, starring at her feet as she listened to Sinbad go on with Masrur, talking about how the boy fought every day of his life in the coliseum, not knowing which day he might lose and die.

"You're definitely strong but you're still a child, aren't you tired of doing something like this?" Sinbad asked again.

Masrur looked down and gave a small nod with his head, his hands letting go of the towel on his head and letting it just hand there.

Holding the boy's wrist in his own Sinbad smiled "I see, well then I'll as Lady Madaura and see if you can stop being a gladiator. It's all right. If you become Lady Madura's 'child' I'm sure you can stop right away."

Despite realising the situation, it did not make it easier to see or hear Sinbad like this. Sakura held back the tears that wanted to fall and went for biting her lip till it bled though she did not register the metallic taste in her mouth.

Masrur turned around and began walking away.

"Hey where are you going?" Sinbad called. "Don't you want to stop being a gladiator?"

Turning back Masrur's spoke, his voice holding more than his face dared to give away, it was almost considered unnatural for a child. "I am a Fanalis…I'll do the job I'm given, I'll obey orders but I won't throw away my pride. Because I am a proud Fanalis!"

The fluttering, she heard it again, stronger and when she looked up she saw it around Sinbad, the rukh's reaction and Sakura knew that while it was only slight, there was a shift, a wave. Sinbad placed a hand over his chest and clutched the fabric in thought while Masrur walked away, leaving a trail of blood.

Sakura stepped passed Sinbad, waking him from his daze. "Hey Sumire, where are you going now?"

"Is there a bath?" Sakura asked, eyes still following Masrur.

"Several," Sinbad answered starring at her back "I think Masrur will be going to one now but-

Sakura didn't allow him to finish before she followed after the Fanalis boy once again, leaving Sinbad dumbfounded at her somewhat desperate attempt to escape his presence.

"At least someone else in this place still has pride."

And she knew he had heard her.

* * *

"Masrur!" Sakura called finally catching up to the young boy, he looked at her with a blank persona and as before she returned it with a smile.

"Sinbad said you were heading to the baths, mind if I join you?"

The boy simply stared back at her again-lucky for her, stoic and expressionless boys were somewhat of a speciality.

* * *

Running her long hair back and out of her face Sakura exhaled as the warm water touched her body, the warm water was a nice change from the freezing water she endured in the torture chambers. It was similar to the baths she had been to before, but she knew it was a different room, the waters were filled with sweet scented flowers as well. Masrur remained on the other side of the giant bath, washing away the blood, they were the only two here because of the time of day.

Without hesitance or a glimmer of bashfulness for being completely bare, she moved through the water swiftly till she was only a short distance from the young boy. There were times when she use to bath with Ja'far who had an uncanny ability to bath no longer than three minutes, always saying that assassins weren't able to let their guard down for very long-that and he always became flustered whenever she surprised him.

"Do you need some help?" Sakura asked noticing he was missing a lot of the blood that had already begun to dry and stick to the skin on his back and in his hair.

"You don't have to-

"I don't mind."

Masrur looked over his shoulder at her, he gave a small nod and turned back.

Sakura came closer to him, taking the washcloth from his hands and started rubbing his back, it didn't take long for the blood to be removed.

"So Masrur, you're a Fanalis right?" Sakura asked as she continued to bath him.

"Yes," Masrur responded, his tone dull and hushed.

Sakura watched the blood stains drip, none of it was his. "You must be very strong, of course I saw you carrying that big sword."

Masrur didn't respond as Sakura started running her fingers through the small boys hair, red started mixing with the water around them.

"You know you're the second Fanalis, I've met."

The boy's posture changed, Masrur turned around, his eyes now wide filled with curiosity and longing-he looked like a real child.

"You've met another Fanalis?"

Sakura nodded leaning to the back against the edge of the bath, starring up at the ceiling. "His name was Yaqut, he wasn't that much older than you actually."

Masrur shifted closer to Sakura as if he would miss a detail if he wasn't as near as possible. Sakura told Masrur about how Yaqut had run away from these slave merchants and straight into her, knocking her unconscious and then waking up to both of them in chains, in a caravan heading to the slave headquarters.

"You were both taken as slaves, is that how you ended up here?" Masrur asked

Sakura smirked, snickering softly before shaking her head "No, I escaped before anything could happen, although thinking back they did mention Madaura. I'm sure they were going to sell Yaqut to her as well."

Masrur looked entranced, he was leaning on both of his hands in front of him. "What happened?"

"We all broke free," Sakura said "The slave merchants were driven out and all of the former men, women and children who were taken as slaves were now freed, including Yaqut."

Starring down in to the water, Masrur lifted up his hands to peer at the in wonder, "He is free."

"Yes, though I don't' know what he is doing or where he has gone, I am sure he is." Sakura responded "He wanted to come with me but I told him he couldn't, it seems I had made a good decision. Don't' think I'd be able to forgive myself if he ended up in chains again. Especially when Madaura seems to really tighten the binds on her slaves."

"You don't like her." Masrur said

Sakura scoffed softly "I don't agree with her doctrine and she doesn't like that, which results in these," she gestured to the marks on her body under the water before letting out a shaky breath.

"She wants you to be her child."

Another snicker left Sakura's lips "Of course she does, otherwise how am I supposed to serve for her? What about your Masrur, are you her child?"

Masrur did not respond then, as if contemplating his own answer but instead of waiting for a response Sakura continued to speak.

"I will never become Madaura's child, because I will never accept this life and I will never accept her." Sakura said, her voice firm now and strong. When she looked down at Masrur, the young Fanalis felt an odd stirring within him as Sakura's eyes pierced through him, so soft and yet so powerful and promising.

"Suppose it's similar to what you said, you won't throw away your pride and I won't throw away my heart."

In that short span of time, Sakura had managed to cause a crack through the walls the young Fanalis had built through his time as a slave and something was slowly beginning to seep in through it and it was making him feel something he had not felt for a long time….

Hope.

* * *

"This is the room Masrur and I share with two other children, they're not around right now though," Sinbad gestured to the double beds lined up on either side of the room against the walls, semi-circle shaped windows lining the top and not much else. It was very simplistic, the purpose meant for nothing more than sleeping. Although Sakura couldn't help but think it was probably better than what most slaves would receive, even the common room where she was actually able to get a decent meal, there were children wondering around all smiling, none miserable or holding the sad eyes of human beings who had lost their rights.

Sinbad had gone on about how surprised he was when he first arrived as well, he told her that the children are allowed to do pretty much whatever they wanted under Lady Madaura's roof and that they were educated and given lessons to better themselves. She had not responded to Sinbad during that time, appearing unimpressed by what he was trying to sell her although it was also because she was holding back her rage, she had clenched her hands so hard under the table her fingernails dug straight into her skin drawing blood.

"Those beds are free," Sinbad said pointing to his left and then to the one's right next to it. "That one's mine and Masrur's."

"Okay," Sakura said.

Sinbad appeared a little deterred by her lack of enthusiasm, for some reason. "How was your bath?"

"Fine." She responded as plainly as possible.

"Do you want to go to back to the common room or perhaps rest?" Sinbad asked, although Sakura knew he was only doing that because he did not know what else to do with her.

Ignoring his question, she decided finally to ask her own. "Do you like being a head slave?"

Sinbad was lost for words, barely able to reply with an audible "Huh?"

"Do you like being a head slave?" Sakura repeated, keeping her head down.

"Well…..I'm only an apprentice head slave but um….why ask me something like that?"

This time Sakura didn't know how to reply but she didn't need to, she was sure now at least that Sinbad wasn't doing this because he enjoyed it; otherwise he would have answered the question.

"No reason…."

Sinbad rubbed the back of his neck as the uncomfortable silence fell over them again-well uncomfortable for him. The question taking root in his mind. He was training to become a head slave under Madaura's orders, there were not a lot of children around his and Fatima's age so it made sense since they were older than the other slaves but Sinbad's mind had been concerned about nothing more than avoiding more punishment, he did not question the role he was now given.

"Hey, about what you said earlier…." Sinbad said, referring to her statement before she left for the baths. Sakura looked at him, lifting her head slightly. "You shouldn't say things like that,"

That time she wasn't able to maintain composure and keep her face blank "What do you mean?"

Sinbad took a breath, he spoke in the tone that would suit a lecturer as if everything being said was vital. "Sumire, I can understand what you are going through but you need to accept things as they are. If Lady Madaura accepts you as one of your children, things will become a lot easier for you. All you have to do is accept her from the bottom of your heart and she'll make you one of her 'children'. It's better than getting shipped off right?"

Sakura scoffed, a painful churning beginning in the pit of her stomach. "What's the difference? At the end of either I'll still be trapped, I'll still have to wear these chains and I will still be a slave."

"That's just the reality!" Sinbad said stepping towards her but Sakura took two steps away from him.

"Stay away from me!" Sakura warned

"Why can't you just accept Lady Madaura and stop being so rebellious?"

Hands going up to her ears, Sakura shut her eyes tightly "I won't devote myself to that women because my devotion and my heart-

The door swung open, bringing everything to a halt, it was Kil. He looked up at the two with little expression.

"Lady Madaura wants to see you right now, Sinbad."

Sakura swallowed hard, 'This can't be good.'

Sadly-she was right.

* * *

It was hard when you did not realise the kind of problems that would develop in the future depending on circumstances but sometimes it wasn't any better being able to feel misfortune without knowing every detail in how to prevent or avoid it. Her eyes wandered around, the cages that were stacked up around the room, once filled with distraught people were empty…every single one.

Sakura stood a little ways from Sinbad, listening to the multiple questions-yelling from the enraged group of slave handlers, though questions, there was clear accusation in their tone. While Sinbad just stood there, a face filled with nothing and eyes just as blank. As if he was not able to process the words and therefore could not muster up an appropriate reaction.

"Sinbad, why would you let all the slaves escape!?"

"We trusted him, even though he's such a strange person…"

"AND WHAT HAS HE DONE FOR US?"

"This is why I was against it. Making someone like him a head slave!"

Something was not right about this, aside from the situation itself, it did not make sense because Sinbad-as he was, would not even consider freeing a single slave. It wasn't that he would the obvious person to be blamed just because he was a head slave, no it was because Sakura knew (though it wounded her) Sinbad was not capable of doing this, he was literally incapable, not in mind or body was he strong enough to gain the resolve for himself to do this. Although it didn't seem like that was put into consideration judging by the men all screaming their discontent.

Despite all of this one in particular stood out in the crowd.

"That's right! He's not fit to be a head slave! He betrayed your trust Lady Madaura, he should be given a suitable punishment!" Fatima stated.

Sakura didn't miss anything, the sickening tone of joy and triumph, the crooked smile, twitching fingers of excitement-Fatima was being too obvious. All of the others had been filled with rage, anger but not Fatima; he was happy and it was not difficult to decipher why. She had caught his look of hate towards Sinbad before and just as she feared, it was a problem.

'He would be a terrible gambler.'

Sakura's eyes landed on Madaura who was watching the scene unfold with a calmness equal to Sinbad's. Though the pinkette half expected the women to go into a rage about losing her merchandise, she was tranquil and Sakura hoped it would stay that way for Sinbad's sake, otherwise she would have to intervene and that could bring a lot of problems not just now but in the future as well-for this was the way of the world and it was not easy to overcome. If she escaped with Sinbad, chances were Madaura would pursue them, life for Sinbad would not go back to the way it was.

'Of course if she tries anything, that isn't going to matter.' Sakura thought watching as Madaura began making her way to Sinbad. 'If it's for him I'll-

A smile meant to convey warmth spread across Madaura's face, not a trace of hostility. "Sinbad. Everyone fails once or twice, I forgive you."

The expected gasps echoed around the near lifeless room now, Fatima was the most surprised and just as he failed to mask his excitement did he fail to mask his discontent and desperation. Grasping at threads unravelling, in hopes to bring his ambitions to light.

"W-What are you saying!?" This isn't something that can be forgiven!" Fatima stressed, only to be met with a kind reply, implying noting yet creating a feeling of dread.

"Oh Fatima, are you telling me what to do."

Fatima stiffened, sweat dripping down his face, his composure lost. "Of…of course. I'm only thinking of you, Lady Madaura."

Soon enough, Fatima was embraced by his master. "What's wrong Fatima? You're shaking so badly..I wonder if there's some reason behind it."

Another discovery Sakura made, after watching Fatima and Madaura and the reactions of the two. For whatever reason Madaura knew that it was not Sinbad who had set the slaves free and Fatima was afraid because he knew that if Sinbad was not blamed-there was only one other to blame. She had also seen the full extent of Madaura's ability. Madaura put on a performance for everyone here, one that would capture their hearts and make them submissive, un-doubtfully loyal and unable to take any action without having Madaura in their thoughts. Even when it was to benefit themselves. They thought Madaura flawless, the only light in this world of darkness because despite the situation they were in as slaves, they were 'loved'. Fatima in particular.

'Love is a powerful thing and this women has taken something so pure for her own twisted desires.'

"I don't want to see my cute little children fighting. The search for the culprit ends here. I'm going to overlook this incident."

There was not a whisper of protest, Sakura looked up one more time at everyone gathered, from the slaves to Madaura to Sinbad (who was yet to speak).

'I have to get him out of here.'

* * *

Waiting until they were out of the sight of prying eyes and ears that sharpened at these kinds of whispers, in a currently vacant hallway, Sakura finally decided to voice her thoughts.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Broad shoulders visible stiffened and even from behind, it was possible to determined Sinbad's expression-one of nothing still. He did not respond and continued walking but Sakura refused to stop relenting.

"Why didn't you tell Madaura that it was Fatima who set those slaves free?"

Again no response, frustration grew within Sakura but she reframed from allowing it to control her actions-as much as she possibly could. This wasn't Sinbad's fault, she told herself, he couldn't help it, she repeated that in her mind a few times.

"Sinbad." Sakura called again, her voice firm she stopped walking and so did he.

He didn't turn around, not that she would let him see her entire face anyway so it was a loss cause but still, the way this girl addressed him, there was a familiarity when she spoke his name, as if she had said it many times before and knew just how to say it. How to make him speak.

"I am still just an apprentice head slave, I do have a set of keys to the cells but when I finish my work the keys go back to Lady Madaura."

Sakura gasped, that would mean that Madaura clearly knew the truth the whole time and yet…instead of pointing that out in front of everyone she chose to keep to herself, pretend she believed Sinbad was responsible and then show some kind of motherly 'forgiveness', that being the case however….

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it wouldn't have mattered," Sinbad stated

"So you were just going to let them lie and accuse you of something you didn't do?" Sakura stomped her foot on the ground (not using chakra of cause to avoid cracks)

"Whether or not I said anything would not have effected Lady Madaura's decision, she already knew I handed in my keys so there was nothing to fear…I would only get in trouble if I made a scene-

Sinbad was barely able to get his last word out as he was spun around and then head snapped to the side, a prickly pain began to bloom across his right cheek, throbbing. He touched the area, fingers stilled and calm, eyes void of any feeling or reaction to the slap.

Soft pants left Sakura's mouth, her chest heaving, her hand stinging from the slap she delivered having not use chakra.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sakura muttered, voice shifting from firm to a dim whimper, "How-how could you let this happen? Why did you let this happen? You should have stopped this, you should have…."

Sinbad looked at Sakura with a stoic expression, arms at his side as she crumbled to the ground, both hands over her face, uncontrollable sobs spluttering out in an ungraceful manner. Sinbad was clearly unaware of the real reason behind her crying but Sakura was all too aware. All those questions she asked, they were not directed at him but herself. She blamed herself for all of this, it was irrational but then again so were feelings and the people who harnessed them and what made her cry even more-the fact that she was crying.

'I couldn't do it-I couldn't stay strong-not even for him!'

* * *

Why? She wandered. Why was she trying hard, really? A flicker of fear coursed through her, as a question settled in her mind. One that she was afraid to answer…

The room was filled with soft snores, of the three children that laid in bed, sleeping peacefully but there were not only three children in the room-there were five. Sakura stared up at the ceiling, her eyes wide open despite her obvious exhaustion. After her outburst of crying, Sinbad had taken Sakura by the hand and lead her back to the room where he suggested she get some rest but no matter what her eyes refuse to close. Sinbad was disappearing slowly and she was afraid that if she looked away for too long, he would be gone for good. She knew that he was still awake as well but most likely for different reasons than her own.

She wanted to cry again but it was as though she did not have any tears left, glancing to her left, the moonlight shone through the windows depicting the silhouette and one thing came to Sakura's mind when she looked at Sinbad, he appeared shallow, nothing like the Sinbad knew. Madaura was taking him away piece by piece and right in front of her.

'I'll get you back,' Sakura vowed silently.

Though Sinbad did not turn, he knew without needing that the new girl and his charge, Sumire was a looking at him, with eyes that he was yet to see but he believed most likely to be filled with hate. Madaura had told him that Sumire was apparently a 'difficult child' and that she did not respond well to punishment, so he was placed with the task of looking after her in hopes of swaying her as he did with the other slaves but this girl, she was different. Resilient and stubborn not something you see around here. She invoked reactions from him, reactions that he had not revealed since he closed off and yet only a day goes by and she has begun to creep into his mind.

For the first time an image pushes its way through the barriers guarding his heart as he remembers her.

'Sakura…'

* * *

When morning came, the tension from the previous day had not dissipated between Sinbad and Sakura, their acknowledgements were brief, their interactions even more so. As if they were treading around a floor of brittle glass, ready to shatter any moment but because of Sinbad's obligations to take care of 'Sumire' under Madaura's orders and Sakura whose entire purpose of being here was to find a way to free Sinbad did not leave much room to full fill the idea of distance matter how appealing it may have appeared to be. Though Sakura had reached a peak of revelation there was still that awkwardness between her and Sinbad and developed within such a short period of time.

On their way to the common room for breakfast Sinbad was called in to Lady Madaura and Sakura of course came along.

Madaura did not appear angered nor disappointed when Sakura appeared with Sinbad, much to her suspicions, it was almost as though she wanted her here.

"Ah, good morning my dears, Sinbad has Sumire been behaving?" Madaura asked and Sakura felt a bitter taste in her mouth. Her hidden eyes glanced over at Sinbad in wonder, was he going to tell her about yesterdays….'exchange'. Right now to Madaura, Sakura was too strong willed and prided to control but if she heard about this little slip up, chances were she might attempt to take advantage of it-Sakura would of course rebel and in retaliation probably be punished once again and while she could withstand it, there was no way to completely disregard discomfort or pain at a certain degree.

'And I'll be separated from him again,'

What worried Sakura though, was what Sinbad was going to tell his oh so wonderful master…

"She has Lady Madaura," Sinbad said, his tone neutral.

It was surprising and Sakura did her best to hide but she couldn't help feeling a warm flutter in her chest at the simple gesture of deceit and perhaps kindness.

"Oh, well that's good to hear. I see you're already having a good effect on her, I am happy she is learning." Madaura smiled, moving to the exit of the study she gestured for them to follow. Sakura did not like the way she looked at her.

"Now I think it's time for another lesson,"

* * *

The sight to Sakura could only be described in one word-appalling, the dark bruises contrasting with light skin, bite marks travelling from the shoulders down, eyes that spoke of a long, tireless and fruitless night….though she had seen many terrible things on her travels, this was a new discovery and it was one she would have liked to live without, putting it bluntly it was horrifying. Fatima sat up in a large luxurious bed obviously not meant for him, the sheets covered his naked form from the waist. Sakura and Sinbad stood behind Madaura as she stepped forward.

"You were wonderful Fatima, our customer was very pleased with you." Madaura praised "It seems he has taken a liking to you!"

"It was all for Lady Madaura,"

With the weary eyes that still held happiness and not a sign of shame caused a knot to twist itself inside of Sakura as her thoughts came to place; Fatima was a head slave, absolutely loyal and devoted to Lady Madura so much so he was willing to literally do 'anything' for her sake. This has only opened her eyes further, allowing her to delve deeper into this women's mind, Madaura had retaliated against Fatima for freeing all of the slaves and his punishment came in such an obvious form yet because of Fatima's devotion of Madaura he was not able to see what was beyond the surface of her intentions.

"Yes, thanks to you our business negotiations went smoothly. And that gentlemen wants to hire you." Madaura spoke with a tone of causal praise, leaving nothing to be discovered. "It looks like you'll be leaving us Fatima, congratulations."

This time, Fatima became frantic, composure lost as well as concern of the consequences of them. "Why Lady Madaura, I've been such a good boy, why can't I stay by your side!?"

Sakura couldn't withhold a shudder, the concept of hearing and seeing really did give everything a different perspective.

'This women…' Sakura shuddered.

"Now, now Fatima, don't cause trouble for me." Madaura soothed the boy's hair "Every child has to leave the nest someday…now is that time for you. Besides the only child I could ever let serve such an important customer of ours, is you Fatima. There's no one I can entrust this but you...I mean isn't that the truth. You're my most reliable child aren't you?"

Sakura was in shock before but she was even further shocked by Fatima's response. Lady Madaura. Please leave this important task to me." Fatima smiled, his entire body trembling "Just leave it to me, you're most reliable child!"

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Sakura whispered under her breath, but Sinbad had heard her because he nudged her in warning.

* * *

Fatima's departure was only minutes away and Sinbad and Sakura were going to see him off. Sakura knew Madaura's intentions of making her stay to witness this 'special occasion', after all what better way to help her understand her place here than making an example of one of her most 'reliable children'. Glancing at Sinbad's face, lips curved with disdain, eye brows coming together, it was obvious he had not expected this either but another realisation came to mind, while this was a deplorable situation she would take it as an opportunity. A chance to make Sinbad turn to the terrible truth that he was avoiding…

'I'll do whatever it takes.'

"You seem surprised," Sakura said, her voice now echoing with their soft footsteps through the halls.

"What do you mean?" as Sinbad asked this question, he kept looking ahead, unable to even turn in the girl's direction.

"Well, Fatima is one of Madaura's 'children' isn't he, yet she is giving him away so easily." Sakura said, her tone laced with a casual content that was far from truth.

"Yes, it is strange…"

Sakura scoffed "I didn't say that, I only stated a fact. After all at the end of it all, we're just slaves. Those who think otherwise are either fools or blind."

Sinbad frowned, he looked back at Sakura, "It's not that we don't know that-

"No, you don't know why? Because you forget. Forget that you were sold or captured, forget about your family and friends, forget about your goals and ambitions, forget about what has happened to you, forget that you were turned into slaves and forget that you're not her children!"

"Sumire-

"Start thinking about the real reason you are here and stop deluding yourself." Sakura hissed, turning around, like trying something for the first time and desperately wanting to succeed at it but knowing that the odds were not in your favour. She walked away from Sinbad, ignoring his calls of her fake name. She had just planted seed within a heart that already had vines growing around it, vines with poisonous thorns that would destroy anything that tries to outgrow it but Sakura promised she would not surrender-not until Sinbad was free once again.

The ache returned once more.

'I-

* * *

" _Hey Sakura, I'm tired!" Sinbad slumped over his desk, arms stretched out across the untidy paperwork on his desk. Sindria trading company was silent, as the day and shifts had ended many hours ago, however the situation was different for the company's leader and his trusted partner._

 _Sinbad's eyes trailed over the pinkette who was sitting on a pillow on the floor with stacks of scrolls and papers neatly placed around her-tough Sinbad had tried, she insisted on seating herself where she could keep an and eye on him and makes sure he worked while keeping a 'safe distance' from him._

" _Well then you'd better finish up the rest of that overdue paper work." Sakura instructed, holding back from rubbing her own tired eyes._

 _Despite the vigilance of his staff, it seemed that Sinbad had still found ways to duck out of his work and started developing a habit of visiting entertainment houses-the one place Sakura absolutely refused to visit after the last time when she was looking for Sinbad and someone assumed she worked there and groped her during 'service time' to put things kindly, the man was still alive. But after that she swore never to go in there again or any other establishment remotely similar._

" _Honestly," Sakura shook her head "Could you be anymore sleazy?"_

 _Sinbad frowned, "Hey I resent that comment it's not like I'm the only guy in the world who appreciates the comfort of a women."_

 _Sticking her tongue out in disgust Sakura returned to her work, these kinds of conversations usually took a long turn for arguments that meant getting less work done and they didn't need that right now however the next comment Sinbad made had Sakura flying off her spot on the floor and in front of him in a second._

" _I bet your love interest does the same."_

 _Moving past the clothes, grasping the flesh of Sinbad's neck knocking him back into the wall, the shelves rattled as the pinkette held him in place, her eyes blazing in fury._

" _He wouldn't, he's nothing like you." Sakura hissed like a snake, tightening her hand much like a coil. "Don't-ever-say-that-again."_

 _Sinbad gasped for air after Sakura removed her hand, he made a mental note to never again slight the person Sakura proclaimed to love because-he wanted to keep his head. He had seen Sakura get angry, but it was an anger that came from care and concern but this time, there was nothing behind this anger but fury for insult and perhaps a natural desire to defend the one she loved and if he was honest…he felt a pang of pain deep within him._

" _Sorry…"_

 _Sakura let out a breath, already the feeling of guilt started to set in, berating herself for losing her temper as she had. There were already marks appearing from her grasp and she realised if she pressed further, she might have caused real damage-fatal damage._

" _Damn," Sinbad chuckled, although it was obvious it was meant to lighten the tension "You've got a real grip on you huh?"_

" _I-I'm so sorry," Sakura gasped kneeling down, placing her hands over Sinbad's neck and watching as his wounds began to heal, the red mark being erased. In this position, Sakura could feel Sinbad's breathe hitting her forehead, reminding her of their proximity but she remained focused on the task at hand. Not a second later after he was healed she pulled back, Sinbad's hand ran over his neck immediately._

" _Thanks."_

 _Head bowed in shame, Sakura looked away "No, you shouldn't thank me. I was the one who just strangled you."_

" _Well…." Sinbad trailed "I did kind of insult someone you love, so I guess I deserved it."_

 _Shaking her head, Sakura slammed her hand on the wooden floors, careful not to break them like the last time. "You did, I will always defend those I care about and I will not let them be slandered."_

 _The blanket of silence fell over them, emerald stared into gold before one decided to react. "What's it like to be in love?"_

 _Sakura froze, there was hardly ever a time when Sinbad hesitated to ask her questions about anything and she did mean_ _ **anything**_ _so much so it stopped surprising her but if there was one topic she believed Sinbad would never ask and that was the topic he just ever so boldly brought up._

 _Just to make sure she heard him correctly she asked, "Um could you repeat that?"_

" _What is it like to be in love?" Sinbad asked again without struggle._

' _Oh holy crap, he really did ask.'_

" _W-Why would you ask me a question like that?"_

 _Sinbad shrugged, "I'm just kind of curious."_

" _Well it's um….." Sakura paused, thinking carefully about how she was going to word this. "It's not really a feeling you can explain, it's just something you know…You know you're in love with a person when you're willing to do anything for them no matter the consequences, no matter how much it hurts, even if it costs you everything…."_

" _That's a lot of sacrifice," Sinbad frowned, arms crossed._

 _Sakura shrugged "No one ever said love was fair but I do know this…" she placed a hand over her heart, "I would do anything for the sake of seeing the person I love happy even if it meant I wouldn't be."_

 _Sinbad smiled. "Sakura, I am sure if I searched the world for someone like you, I would never find them."_

' _Perhaps not in this world.' Sakura thought laughing at her own joke._

Sakura's hand barely covered her face as she allowed tears to slide down her cheeks and drip onto the floor. Tears that came with nothing but truth and realisation.

'I don't care how long it takes, days, weeks, years or the rest of my life. I will save you.'

Of course with that resolve came a daunting idea, she would stay true to her word but what the actual consequences might be brought about a feeling of dread. Yunan had warned her she might never be able to return to her world and at the pace she was going…She shook her head.

'It doesn't matter, not anymore.'

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Sumire,"

She twitched as the feeling of a hand roughly shaking her shoulder but she did not open her eyes, only stir.

"Sumire."

Her lips twitched downward with annoyance, the night had been a long one, nearly sleepless again until she finally willed herself to rest.

"Sumire wake up."

Sakura just groaned and turned away, this person was addressing someone called Sumire that wasn't-

"Oh crap!" Sakura shot up, finally registering. Her forehead nearly colliding with a startled Sinbad's who pulled away just in time to avoid impact.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sakura hissed quickly covering her eyes with her hair.

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

Sakura's casual brashness dimmed after she saw the expression on Sinbad's face, it wasn't so much that as the look in his eyes, eyes that were once again shining with determination and strength that-she disappointingly must admit, thought to be completely dissipated.

"Sinbad?"

His expression did not change, "I need to speak with you about freeing all of the slaves and escaping."

At first she thought this might be a dream, a cruel, wonderful dream but she knew that in a dream-whatever elements of reality they may claim, could not replicate this vivid depiction.

And once again, Sakura cried.

 **That's all for now everyone, look forward to the next chapter and in the mean time please review.**


	26. Broken chains-unleashed seals-lost heart

**_Alright everyone, here's the next chapter for you, I usually don't have much to say other than enjoy since I don't like giving away spoilers. So have at it and for those who read my story Assassin amongst assassins, that has finally been updated too._**

 _As Fatima prepared for departure to his new home and who evidently would be his new master, Sinbad couldn't help but replay the strong voice in his mind over and over again. Why was he always pondering her words like they had meaning in them? Words like that weren't meant to have value in this place and yet hers….they were taking root deep within him._

" _Wait Fatima!" Sinbad called, without really realising what he was doing and when he did not get a response, he pressed further for one. "Don't you think it's strange? Letting her treat you this way? Being sold off like that…Why are you okay with that?"_

 _There wasn't much times when Sinbad gave much thought to Fatima's opinions but it was more for the sake of confirmation that genuine curiosity or concern._

" _You're the one that's strange," Fatima replied, yet to turn back, his fist foot on the step to the entrance of the caravan "Lord Zeutius is Lady Madaura's most important customer. I'll be serving him."_

 _It was then when Fatima turned around did Sinbad see it, the look of his face of someone who had nothing left of themselves, their eyes crazed with the ideal to satisfy another and Sinbad wondered; while he most certainly did not look like that now, how much longer would it be before he had turned into Fatima? The road didn't seem like a long one and he had already gone a few miles these past few weeks after being taken as a slave._

" _It's an important responsibility to serve Lady Madaura's most valued customer…There's nothing better than this. I'm amazing! I'm loved! Much, more than someone like you!"_

 _Sinbad had to step back a little as if Fatima's outburst created an invisible force that pushed him back._

 _Fatima was breathing the air through his teeth, with a clenched smile "I was acknowledged by Lady Madaura. I'm the most remarkable!"_

 _Sinbad did not say anything else as Fatima took his leave, the caravan rolled out of the gates that Masrur descended briefly and then began to raise again on his own. When he looked at Masrur's eyes he felt an urge, his hand crept up to clutch the fabric around his chest where his heart once lied._

" _ **At least someone here still has their pride."**_

" _Is that what it looks like? Someone who has lost their pride? Then what about me?"_

 _Sinbad began to realise that in order for him to survive in this place, he had blocked off his feelings and memories for the sake of survival, he pretended not to see anything, having thrown away all of his goals and ambitions…_

' _Just what am I doing?'_

 _Then he remembered something else….his mother, his real mother. The way she held up his father sword, now the metal vessel of Baal._

" _ **Sinbad, you found it didn't you? Something only you can do?"**_

 _And then he remembered someone else, a voice he in all honesty-forgotten last._

" _ **So you're willing to go to any lengths to achieve your dream?" Sakura asked**_

" _ **Of course!" Sinbad said "That's why, I promise that you can believe in me, Sakura."**_

 _How had he forgotten so easily?_

' _What would she have to say, if she saw me like this?'_

"After that, it all started to come back to me," Sinbad explained to Sakura aka Sumire, "She deceived my company and trapped us in an investment, I lost a match meant to free us of debt, I became a slave and in order to protect myself I succumbed to Madaura's brain washing and become one of her accomplices. That women planned everything from the beginning despite that I believed it would somehow be okay…my self-conceit, that's what led me here."

Sinbad's tone changed, one free of pity, as he did not seem to believe he deserved it, scorning himself. Sakura did not care, not that it was Sinbad's own fault for landing himself in this situation, not that he gave into Madaura's brainwashing, none of it mattered because now, he had finally come to his senses. Hopes of returning him to the way he was-that was what Sakura wanted, and to do that Sinbad would not only need to be freed of his physical chains but the mental ones Madaura had placed on him.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Sakura asked, she wanted to know just how he expected them to set all of the slaves free and escape.

Sinbad held out his hand for Sakura. "Come with me and I'll tell you, we need to find one more person."

* * *

It hadn't been too hard for Sakura to guess who Sinbad was going to include in this meeting, Masrur, was the only other person Sakura had seen that was not under Madaura's influence not to a point where he would throw away his dignity for a bit of comfort from her and while a part of Sakura resented the idea of involving a child (regardless of them being a Fanalis) with whatever Sinbad had planned because no matter the options it was highly unlikely that even one would have little to no danger involved.

'Whatever it takes.' Sakura repeated thrice in her mind as she looked at Masrur, they were fortunate enough to run into him on their way to the bottom floor, now in an empty hallway without prying ears and eyes.

"Masrur I need to talk to you." Sinbad said, sitting down on the built in benches, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "I am thinking of setting the slaves free."

Sakura believed it to be something rare, expression of shock on a stoic face, Masrur's eyes went as wide as they could go, he appeared very shaken by Sinbad's statement.

Then Sinbad spoke and Sakura couldn't help but recall his voice, the way he spoke, coaxing everyone around him to listen, to want to believe him, one of his greatest strengths and that she thought he had lost.

"You are a Fanalis, your race isn't a slave race and it's not like you became a slave by choice. Isn't your position as a slave something that was decided by someone else? So why do you have to go along with it?"

Gripping Masrur's shoulders with firm clarity Sinbad continued his speech to the obviously speechless boy. "More importantly, you are strong! In our sword match, you followed Madaura's orders and went easy on me. Have you ever fought something using your real strength? You haven't have you? How much longer do you plan to hold yourself back?"

Sakura could definitely see the old Sinbad returning, that included the power of influencing those around him with his intentions but unlike those other times this was to a different degree. The fluttering of the rukh told her everything, Masrur was falling for Sinbad's words.

"Choose the world you live in. As long as you stay here, you may be a Fanalis but you're still only a slave. NO matter how much pride you have, if you can't change your current position and only make excuses. It's the same as doing nothing! You aren't the kind of person they can shut up in a cage like this. That's right; isn't it Masrur?"

Sakura chose to take the silence that had come over Sinbad and Masrur to interject, adding her own input. "He's right Masrur, I told you before didn't I? About the Fanalis I met? About the one who is now free? Don't you want to know what that feels like? It may be a risk but don't you think it would be worth it if it meant having a chance at living?"

Her words were short and simple, more than enough for any child to understand.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Masrur.

Sinbad held out his hand for Masrur, "I can tell that you're one of the few who can make that choice. I came to my sense thanks to you-the both of you." His gaze lingered on Sakura before turning back. "I'll get you out of here. Let's go the outside world together."

The second Masrur's hand fell into Sinbad's, it was clear that his fate was sealed, his decision made and that there was no going back-for any of them.

"Alright," Sinbad said "Now I need help gathering up all other slaves."

And Sakura followed him without question. A long road of freedom beginning to progress but what lied ahead, what Sakura had said to Masrur about the fight for freedom being worth it-did she truly understand the gravity of the price they may have to pay? In her excited state of mind she did not fully take the thought into account.

* * *

It wasn't very difficult to gather up all of the children at a time when Madaura would not become suspicious, a time when she was apparently in a meeting with clients. Of course there was a bit of an exclusion of certain slaves deemed too far gone to be returned from Madaura's brainwashing; in other words the adults and thanks to Sinbad's authority as head slave that was a fairly easy task. In the underground level of the building everyone was gathered together, the children huddled on the floor as Sinbad sat slightly elevated on a crate with Sakura/Sumire standing beside him, Masrur a little ways from them leaning against an empty cage.

"Hey everyone, thanks for coming."

Noticing the looks of anxiousness on the children's face, completely understandable given where they were, Sakura flashed a reassuring smile and spoke in a voice of genuine sincerity that could only be played off as truthful.

"Hey now there's no need to fret, you don't have to look so scared, nothing bad is going to happen to you."

And nearly instantly the tension of the room dimmed to a calm at Sakura's words. However something seemed to kick inside of Sakura after she said those words and the reason was going to be revealed soon enough.

"She's right, children there's something I'd like to talk to all of you about." Sinbad's expression became blank, his intentions gone. "We must step back and re-evaluate our positions. We are "slaves" and as slaves we can't ever be anything more or less than that. In other words Madaura will never really love you."

Sinbad's words were harsh and brash but his tone held nothing of the sort, making it an impersonal declaration and more valid. The expression of the children could only come off as nothing less than disbelief, for who would want to hear that the only one left to love them, did not truly love them? A child's ultimate source of weakness, the need to be acknowledged, cared for, to have someone who would be there despite their helplessness and Sinbad was attempting to take that person away.

"Sinbad…"

"What are you saying? There's no way that's true!" exclaimed a young girl, she also happened to be the girl that roomed with Sakura, Masrur and Sinbad. "It's not true that Lady Madaura doesn't love us!"

The other children soon chimed in and as expected, there was the first step of an uproar, they continued to shout on top of one another at Sinbad, accusations of how he was not 'one of them' not one of 'Madaura's children.'

"IF YOU CAN SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT YOU'RE NOT ONE OF US."

Sakura slammed her fist hard against the bars of the cage causing it to bring about abrupt silence, the children looked up at her in silent protest.

"Listen children," Sakura started, her voice eerie, "You're only thinking like that because you've given into Madaura's brainwashing, she made you think she loves you so that you will do whatever she says but in the end you're nothing more to her than merchandise meant to make her profit, a real mother does everything she can to protect her children from the clutches of the evil of this world but she is more than ready to hand you over if they pay the right price."

The words were bitter in Sakura's mouth, she felt her tongue sting in disgust as she watched the children's faces flicker to a brief moment of sadness before they resumed their denials.

"WHY SHOULD WE LISTEN TO YOU?"

"THAT'S RIGHT, YOU'RE A 'BAD CHILD' AFTER ALL."

The protests were extinguished once again by Sinbad's next statement, "Fatima was shipped out, this morning. Just as you all know, he devoted himself to his role as head slave. He respected Madaura and was an excellent child but in the end even he was 'shipped out'."

The children stilled…

"Th-That's just natural."

"Because we are Lady Madaura's children."

Despite them saying this it was hard to miss their facial expressions, a face one would always pull when they felt they were fighting a losing battle yet still wanted to win.

"You don't call something like that a 'child'." Hissed Sinbad "It's a slave."

The air grew thick once again, Sakura began to find it hard to breathe as she prepared for what was to come. Knowing exactly what Sinbad intended to do and what's worse, she had no intention of stopping him.

"You're not Madaura's real children, are you? You're taken care of as her merchandise like Sumire said, bought and sold. You'll be treated like commodity until you die. You're nothing like real children. You're only slaves. There's no love for someone in your position."

Swallowing hard, keeping her face as collected as possible though shattering within Sakura added on. "If you keep believing that someone in your position will be cared for then you're going to go through life living for someone else."

Sinbad went over to the children, placing his hands on two of the children's shoulders as they all looked at him with tear filled eyes. "I understand. I felt the same way that you do now. The truth is that somewhere deep in your heart, you have always known the truth, that Madaura is not a real mother. Despite that you wanted to feel close to someone, so you devoted yourself to her but let's stop clinging to a lie. Remember the world outside of these walls, there weren't any cells or chains right?" Sinbad gave a smile to comfort. "Outside you weren't 'slaves' and lived as human beings. It's a free world where you're not bound by anyone."

Sakura averted her gaze to her feet, Sinbad sounded so convinced of that but it was a point that she would not agree with him. She listened as Sinbad continued to build the children up with the promise of what the outside world had for them, in some case it was a very optimistic view of what the real world was like but then again these were only children in the end and it wasn't uncommon to build up ideals of a world that 'could' be. It was right and wrong at the same time.

"In that world, there's a chance for you to be whatever you want to be, but there are people who want to take that away from you. Your future is being stolen from you by that false mother! We can't allow her inhumane acts to go unpunished! That why we must take action now. To free ourselves from slavery and take back our freedom!"

Sakura gripped her tightly in a punishing grasp, a fluttering that began to grow and she knew that was her signal to speak again. She moved till she was beside Sinbad.

"The key to your freedom is something that has always been right in front of you, if you don't know I will tell you, the key is to fight!"

"F-Fight?" one of the children asked, their tone clearly displaying their nervousness.

Again Sakura did her best not to strain her words, ensuring that her voice came out powerful and without doubt. "Yes, if you don't want to live a life where you are deduced to nothing then fight. Take back what is rightfully yours and do not feel remorse for those who had forced your hand."

"B-But we're…." a young girl trailed.

Sakura went over to her and picked her up, "I know it's not always easy standing up to those who seem to overpower you but each and every one of you have the power and strength to win, together. You outnumber all of the adults here and if you're still afraid-don't be because I will fight with you and throw myself in front their swords before I let anyone touch you! I promise this."

The resolve became stronger now and Sakura knew this, she pushed back the growing fear.

" _What you want me to help you convince them to rebel? Why?" Sakura asked in disbelief_

" _Because, I heard from Madaura that you were quickly able to gain the children's affection. That's why she kept you around despite your defiance If they have someone else to turn to it will make it all the more easier to convince them. They need to be willing to fight with everything they have."_

 _Sakura gaped at Sinbad, almost tempted to strike him for his stupidity as if he was under another spell and that perhaps the slap would bring his back to his senses._

" _They are children! You know what could happen to most of them if they fight!" There was no question about it or a glimmer of doubt of what would be the outcome. "Not to mention those who survive after!"_

 _They were in Reim after all, the local infrastructure supported slavery so a slave rebellion would result in an execution of those slave that have rebelled, even if they were children._

" _I do know." Sinbad said, his voice lowering, in strict confirmation._

" _And you're still going to do it?" Sakura asked, arms crossed now._

" _Yes."_

 _Sakura fell silent, Sinbad's plan would entail a method that would without a doubt leave all of those children tainted-for those who managed to make it and what would it entail for her? For supporting this idea? She knew it might be something far greater than she could handle and yet….when she looked at up at Sinbad yet to reveal her identity to him._

" _Okay."_

Sakura was not a fool and she was not oblivious not was she turning a blind eye to the indiscretions of this plan.

'But if it's for him, I can endure it even if my conscious can't.'

* * *

It became apparent in the next few days that something big was going to happen for the Mariadel trading company, Madaura had been gone for days at a time and when she returned there was a certain glimmer in her eyes. At first this was just a suspicion of Sakura's but became fact after Madaura returned, gathering her older slaves and staff together, basically the adults minus Sinbad and Sakura (who had to be there)-she technically wasn't allowed to go anywhere without Sinbad until told otherwise.

"Is Sinbad here?" Madaura called through the large meeting hall where the adults had gathered to greet her upon her return.

"I am right here." Sinbad said quickly appearing with Sakura beside him, all expression of feeling withheld but Madaura paid no heed to her.

"It's going to get busy from now on, I am going to have you collect slaves from other slave traders in addition we're not going to send out any of the slaves we have currently. I'm leaving you in charge of all of them."

"That's quite an abrupt change." Sinbad pointed out.

"Yes, circumstances have changed." Madaura said with a sinister smile.

Kil walked past them, "I'll be going with to lend Lady Madaura my support. We'll leave things to you."

Sakura and Sinbad glanced briefly at one another before Sinbad responded, "Just leave it to me."

Sakura breathed out 'There's no going back now.'

* * *

When night had fallen and everyone slept, Sakura snuck out with little effort, her footsteps were swift and silent through the hallways that usually echoed them as she made her way to Madaura's office. Once inside, Sakura went over to the desk in search of what she hoped would quench her pressing thoughts. With the way things were going right now and the children's current state, still becoming accustomed to the reality that Sakura and Sinbad had forced upon them, she did not want there to be any mishaps in this plan and she was not able to shake the way Madaura was acting today. The women made a living selling slaves, so why would she suddenly stop trade just to collect a few more slaves? Why not rather collect the slaves while selling? Something was without a doubt amiss and she was going to find out what it was.

She carefully shuffled through the different papers on the desk, going through scroll after scroll but it gave her nothing other than a feeling of disgust until she pulled out the top draw and found nothing but a two scrolls sitting neatly inside, the parchment was still clearly fresh, unruffled by constant opening.

'What could that be?' Sakura wondered as she began undoing the bind of the scroll and then opened it, narrowing her eyes to focus carefully on the words because of the poor light, but as she read the contract even though it was clear she didn't actually believe it.

This was a contract between Mariadel Company and Sindria trading company, or the new Sindria trading company. The details were all very familiar and elementary, just as you would find in any contract dealing with trade in merchandise…only it was saying that they would be dealing slaves. Looking at the date, she saw that it wasn't too old, in fact only a few days old, the contract was also just a copy meaning that the original must be with the other company.

There were several details of the contract that worried Sakura.

'Mariadel company must hand over one thousand slaves to Sindria trading company.'

It made sense now why Madaura did not want any of the other slaves to be shipped off, that solved one part of her suspicions but then there was another…Sakura's eyes landed on the second scroll which she was quick to read, skimming through the details she understood…

'So Sindria trading company is taking responsibility gathering the slaves….' Sakura narrowed her eyes. 'But the requirement is still technically by the Mariadel Company.'

Something was defiantly going on, so Madaura had been dealing with Sinbad's own company this entire time?

Then she caught on another detail….The fees that would come with Sindria taking responsibility for gathering all the slaves. Mariadel Company would have to pay a large amount and by the signature on both of the contracts she had clearly agreed to this! How in the world Rurumu had convinced that women to take such a huge risk….surely it must have taken some kind of great form of evidence to convince Madaura that this was legit.

Having gone through several lessons in business and trade with Rurumu, Sakura was able to quickly pick up the quirks in this proposal. While it could make Madaura a great deal of money….she would first have to pay up the fee to gather the slaves, that alone would bring her to the verge of bankruptcy and then she would have no way to pay back Sindria company… and then she saw another part of the contract

'Should the Mariadel fail to pay Sindria substitution of company assets and property is permitted.'

"Holy crap." Sakura gasped when it finally sunk in.

* * *

Sakura never did tell anyone about what she had discovered that night and decided to allow things to proceed as planned. The conclusion Sakura had drawn up was very unexpected, the outcome was a bit difficult to decipher but she did. She realised the intentions behind Sindria's contract-if she put her thoughts on one particular goal in mind that did not include real business and trade. However she did not mention this to Sinbad. He had already drawn the slave children in and backing out was no longer an option, if he left, he would most likely still want the revolt to happen in order to be rid of Madaura's threat once and for all. She wasn't certain if this was personal to Sinbad as well but it didn't' matter now. The children weren't going to return to the way they were before and the only thing that they could do was move forward with that. This plan of Sinbad's went against every fibre of her being, her belief and morals, it was one thing to use people for the sake of your own purpose but these were only children and yet; no matter how many times Sakura told herself this and reminded herself of this fact, it didn't seem to be enough to waver her.

She smiled bitterly, running a hand through her long locks, wondering if she honestly had lost her mind during Madaura's torture and she just wasn't aware of it.

A hand fell on her shoulder, she glanced up through her bangs.

"Are you okay?" Sinbad asked

She nodded, choking back the truth "Of course."

* * *

The contract for Madaura to pay Sindria, the deadline that Sakura remembered clear as day had finally come-today and for whatever reason Sakura was extremely anxious. She could not stop fidgeting, playing with her food, twirling her hair, rocking back and forth when she stood and it seemed that anyone she talked to noticed but she would just brush it off by coming up with a trivial excuse-not at all very convincingly but enough to get the message across that she was not willing to share in conversation.

'I wonder what kind of storm is about to come rolling through there.'

Sakura had seen many different forms of anger and fury, in the worst shapes and forms, from both her enemies and those she held dear and Madaura looked as if she was out for blood. The darkness of her sclera's only highlighted that burning rage within her, her footsteps were heavy on the floor, she stopped when some of the children (those still full of doubts) came to gather around Madaura to welcome her back. There was a still clearly a need for clarity from them.

Two of the staff members also appeared as she entered the building. "Lady Madaura we are in trouble!"

"The company funds have been reduced to practically nothing has something happened!?"

Sakura watched everything from the uppercase of the room, leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed, able to overlook the scene as it began to unfold.

Madaura grabbed one of the children's arms "Bring all of the slaves here, we have to sell them for cash as soon as possible."

'There's the clarity,' Sakura thought grimly, watching as the child pulled away from Madaura' sheer horror on his face as he ran back to the other children gathered together. They looked at Madaura, eyes narrowed with sad, angry expressions.

Madaura was clearly very surprised as this. "W-Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Then Sinbad came in, grasping Madaura's wrist and pulling her away from the other slaves.

"You mustn't provoke them, come this way."

As they moved out of sight Sakura sighed tilting her head up, her bangs falling away from her eyes.

"Here we go."

* * *

The plan was fairly simple, in order to draw suspicion off himself Sinbad would inform Madaura of the slave rebellion, saying it occurred during the time she was gone, the excuse for what caused it-the shipping off of Fatima which began to harness suspicion from the other slaves, that way he would still be able to move about and keep Madaura's trust until the time was right. It wasn't really necessary but it was also a way to give Madaura a taste of her own medicine before they shoved the entire vile down her throat. However when Sinbad returned he came back to report something even he did not expect.

"What, are you having second thoughts about this rebellion?" Sakura asked softly

Sinbad shook his head, "It's not that...I just found out by Madaura that I'm leaving. Some friends of my apparently found a way to trick her and now she is forced to give me back, they'll be arriving tomorrow."

….

….

….

….

….

….

"I see."

It may not have been the most conventional response but it wasn't as if she wasn't already suspecting this. After finding those documents, it took but a bit of analysing to figure out what Sindria's intentions were-to get their leader back. Had Madaura been a bit more aware of the loyalty of Sinbad's company she would have known not to even entertain the idea of doing business with them but obviously what was promised had blinded her with greed and they took that chance when she wasn't looking to get her right where it hurts.

"Of course this doesn't mean the rebellions going to be stopped." Sinbad pointed out rather quickly. "I know that it's supposed to happen-

"It will happen." Sakura snapped, "Whether you're here or not."

Sinbad nodded slowly, "Actually this might play to our advantage, I might be able to bring things to an end sooner….I just hope I get my metal vessels." Sinbad had muttered that to himself thinking Sakura wouldn't understand what he meant, but she understood easily enough and she couldn't say she disagreed.

The night was long, eerie and silent, many struggled to find the strength to sleep knowing or more likely not knowing what tomorrow would bring for them but one thing was eminent-they were going to fight. The time that had gone by since Sinbad and Sakura reset the children's minds and turned them against Madaura and now they were determined to do whatever it took to get away from her…absolutely anything.

'That's what's so terrifying about children,' Sakura thought 'They're never able to see further than what's right in front of them….and we just took advantage of that.'

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Sinbad asked, his tone hushed.

"Almost." Sakura replied, keeping her eyes on the floor "Some are still gathering up their weapons and Masrur's just gone to the coliseum."

Sinbad nodded, the Coliseum wasn't that far from the Mariadel headquarters and plenty of Madaura's slaves fought in the arena there other than Masrur. They had been taking the weapons there and giving it to the other slave children when they returned bit by bit every day until there was enough to put a weapon in every child's hand, Sakura shuddered even though she knew she knew she had no right to.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, which shouldn't be too long." Sinbad said with silent promise.

She couldn't tell him 'not to worry about it' or to 'take his time' because that was something they could not afford to take for granted right now. This revolt needed to be swift to avoid as much damage as possible and even then there was no way they were going to get out of this unscathed.

They stared, having covered the last details of what was to come and now it was as though there was nothing else, the curtain of silence was brought down by Sinbad.

"You know all this time I can't help but wonder what you really look like." Sinbad stated, taking a step forward.

"So you thought I should give it as a farewell gift?" Sakura asked, her tone light, her lips twisted into a smile.

Sinbad shrugged "Well it seems appropriate to know the face of the one who helped pull me out of my darkness. You kind of remind me of someone."

"Oh do I?" she sounded amused.

Sinbad nodded "Yeah," a nostalgic expression fell over Sinbad's face "Though I'm sure she'd be raving at me if she knew what happened. Probably call me stupid, tell me I deserve this and then try to smack me through a wall."

A soft exhale, Sakura stepped forward "You really believe that? If she's your friend I'm sure that wouldn't be the case."

"No, you're right" Sinbad's voice dulled "I'm sure she would be more disappointed than anything else, she might not want to be my friend anymore."

Sakura gave a small chuckle, Sinbad watched her curiously. "Oh I don't think she'll have any right to be disappointed….."

"Huh?"

A swift hand swiping back the long blonde bangs completely drew Sinbad in, he gasped as his eyes met unique emerald green ones, it was sadly hilarious; something as simple and weak as a few strands of hair being able to obscure what was right in front of him the whole time. His jaw dropped which encouraged a somewhat smug smile form the pink-no blonde-no pinkette as blonde-whatever, at the end of it he knew that this was his Sakura.

"Sakura…."

"Hey Sinbad,"

Before Sinbad had the chance to act on his overwhelming emotions that rendered him immobile while they processed came to take up too much time as the door opened and Madaura appeared with Kil.

"They are here Sinbad," Madaura said, she did not appear the least bit affected by the fact that Sinbad was no longer her slave but that would be due to the fact that Sinbad made her think he is still under her influence, still one of her 'children'.

Sinbad did his best to keep calm but he couldn't help glancing back at Sakura when he was out of the door, all she did was smile, watching as he left as if to reassure him but it didn't help to remove that sad gleam in his eyes.

When the door closed, Sakura's smile immediately fell, her face turning firm and when she could no longer hear footsteps she put her hands together….

"I hope this works."

* * *

The crowds cheered with a sickening chant as if they had lost the ability to say anything else, their desperation for the simple command was eminent and they wanted to see it all, the seats were filled to the brim, their screams working like a cycle in the circle. It was something Masrur was disgustingly all too familiar with, it never changed; there was no distinction from his first coliseum fight. The same bored need to fulfil, the audience oblivious to the actual intent of the gladiators in the ring.

"KILL"

"KILL"

"KILL"

Drowning out the screams of the arena, swiping his large sword swift, like cutting through air he watched the bars of the cage separate diagonally, everyone and everything grew quiet, allowing him to speak.

"Come out. You shouldn't be in a place like this." Masrur stated lowering his weapon. "If you're the same kind of beast as me."

Wanting to avoid any escalation two guards emerged behind Masrur, spears in hand, armour heavy and frowns deep but there was fear in their voices.

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

"Destroying the cages of the animals for the arena right before a match….you lowly slave!"

The blade swept over the men's head so fast they barely saw the steal nor did they feel it but knew it had hit their helmets as the split half's no longer supported by their heads fell and behind them, the entire entrance gate meant to keep the fights within the arena, preventing entrance and escape.

"I won't hold back…Because I was told to show my true power…" Masrur's eyes widened, his voice powerful "YOU WILL LET US THROUGH."

That is when there were screams following, they were not cries of fear but more of a warrior call though high pitched, from the gate that had been destroyed by Masrur several children appeared, some had smears of blood on their traditional white clothes.

The audience cried out in alarm as the children appeared, taking in their forms. Though blood lust was not something uncommon in the coliseum it was harder to accept when it was directed at you-or even felt like it was. They swarmed the coliseum, gathering together while keeping their vicious glares.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"THESE SLAVES-AREN'T THEY MADAURA'S?"

"ARE THEY REBLLING?"

Guards made their way through the audience until they were at the end of nearly the entire parameter of the arena, bows in hand and all aimed at their small but fairly easily spotted target creating a circle which any normal person would find impossible to break.

" _Masrur," 'Sumire' gently called crouching down in front of him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"_

 _The Fanalis was a bit confused now, they had just finished talking about how they were going to start a slave rebellion and what a crucial role he was going to be playing in it and now she was taking precautions-that in Masrur's opinion were unnecessary but he chose to answer her still._

" _Yes," he said "I want to be free, I want to be able to see the outside world for myself."_

 _She smiled at him, her hand moved and was now resting on top of his head, "You're a very brave child,"_

 _Child..._

 _The phrase wasn't foreign to him but over time it seemed as though it had lost its meaning behind it. He did not have anyone that attempted to be tender with him, because of his strength and what he was and his position, most overlooked the fact that he was a child, not even ten and that he still had needs as one._

" _Why do you say that?"_

" _Because you're afraid."_

 _The statement was so blunt yet it pierced straight through him._

" _No, I'm not afraid."_

 _Sakura chuckled, the response was as expected of a child (and of most adults still in the minds of one), stubborn and unyielding despite temptation but Sakura has had her fair share of stubborn children and hence was able to easily figure out their weak points as she found with Ja'far and the Kou Empire's children._

" _Masrur, if that's true then why are you here? Why are you wearing those chains?"_

 _Tensing in an instant Masrur's eyes trailed to the ground. What would be an appropriate response to a question he had not yet figured out was rhetoric and purposed for making him consider the reasons._

" _I…."_

" _Of course it might be hard to think about freedom when there might not be anything left for you on the outside…" Sakura trailed knowingly. "You stayed here because you felt there was nothing else you could do, no one you could return to."_

 _Masrur touched his cheek in shock as he moved his hand in front of his to see wetness on his fingertips, they were warm tears._

 _Nearly his whole body was pulled forward, arms securely wrapped out him, a hug-something he had not felt for such a long time he nearly forgot what it was called._

" _Don't worry, you're brave because you're willing to face your fears but…" she pulled back and smiled "If you get scared you only have to do is call out to me and I'll be there."_

" _Sumire."_

 _She shook her head, leaning down to whisper in his ear "Call-_

"SAKURA"

* * *

When Madaura returned to her headquarters after handing Sinbad back to his comrades she was far from distraught, nothing on her face showed a crevice of defeat. Even the Sindria Company had managed to get back their precious leader but Sinbad was already one of her 'children' completely under her influence just as she had planned from the beginning. She had no doubt that he would come back to her. He had built a reputation for himself in such a short time, a boy with promise to become a great man and she had gotten him trapped within her clutches. But For the time being she would focus on rebuilding her company by selling off the slave involved in the rebellion that Sinbad had mentioned but when she got there-

"Lady Madaura!" Kil called in alarm "All of the slave have armed themselves and they're rebelling!"

The slaves, all of the children she had worked so hard to train and obey her every command were rebelling, she would not have believed it if she didn't see it for herself. All of them gathered together like a pack, in their tiny hands they all held weapons from the arena, how in the world they had all gotten a hold of them was a question best left for later.

'Sinbad said that they were only a small group of children but-but this looks like nearly ALL' Madaura thought in alarm, her shoulders drew back and shaking as if they were strained.

"All of the slaves kept as gladiators in the arena and all of the high class slaves in the headquarters are rebelling at the same time!"

There were cogs turning in Madaura's head at this point, trying to figure out a solution to this what seemed to be irreversible problem. The children had lost complete control or rather she had lost control of them but how and why? She had never had a contingency plan for something like this. She needed these children in one peace, as she had made them, kept them so that they would fetch for a high price, so that she could bring her company back to life but that was a little difficult to do when your merchandise is damaged.

Madaura realised this when she saw one of the guards holding back several children with his spear, no one had attempted to strike yet. The guards may be hesitant because it would be children they'd fight but that sliver of concern would vanish as soon as they believed their own life to be in danger and would take priority-themselves and the children were likely not attacking because-they were children, still just children.

"Those children are merchandise!" Madaura held up her hand with faint hesitance as if it would be cut off "If you scar them in any way we won't be able to sell-

That sliver of concern was gone as one of the guards readied his spear to strike down on a child-but the strike did not hit for it was stopped.

"Looks like a made it."

Madaura's face twisted into a disgusted frown as she looked over the 'new comer', hair so short it would only suit a boy but in contrast it was pink, had it not been for the subtle outline of a petite figure with small curves she would not have guessed it was a girl from behind (if you didn't go lower than the torso) but she was facing forward, holding back the single armoured man who looked as though he was straining against an impenetrable force. Her eyes Madaura was yet to see.

"Who are you?" Madaura demanded

"Mmm, I suppose it would be hard for you to know who I was now right Madaura."

The spear this girl held in her hands, Madaura and the rest of the guards watched as the solid metal within her grasp bent as though it had been warm wax, moulding against her fingers and then-snap!

Mouths hung open, looking on with shock but the pinkette remained perfectly calm, her head tilted up ever so slightly and she was able to see her eyes-those unmistakable eyes, shimmering like emeralds and glistening with strength-and painful promise at Madaura who recognised her immediately.

"You're-

"My name is Sakura Haruno," the kunoichi cut her off, she raised her leg and gave a swift side kick to the guard she had disarmed, taking along two other guards that were beside him yet too shocked to react, sending them all flying for a few seconds in the air and then crashing into the walls, there was a cracking noise heard, she wasn't sure if it was of the walls or bones.

Madaura took a fearful step back as Kil (her remaining loyal slave) step forward to guard her even though he was obviously no match for Sakura.

"And I'm the last thing you'll ever see!"

* * *

The flames of chaos had been lit not only in the headquarters of the Mariadel Company but the arena not too short a distance as well. Crowds of people ran, screaming through the streets long after they managed to push and stumble and shove their way through the exits (which they thought were not enough at this point), they spread their panic like a plague to those in the streets and everyone near had joined them in evacuating the area not even sure what was happening but certain if it was coming from the arena that it was nothing good.

Within the circle of the arena stood several gladiator slaves (children still) their weapons all with only one target, the guards attempting to subdue them, they were not as many in the headquarters though and were outnumbered in comparison to the adults but there was a looming advantage that the slaves had over them and they knew that after baring witness to what _she_ did to the archers that had been surrounding the arena-now all lying unconscious, about a dozen of them. The only one standing within the spectators-or what use to be the spectators circle to watch the fight was Sakura, as she watched the guards attempting to round up the slave children, something that Masrur was not allowing as he broke through another group of guards and sending them into the air while the gladiatorial beast he had freed set towards the inner making of the coliseum which would keep most of the reinforcements at bay but that left Masrur now alone to deal with the men surrounding him and the children.

She jumped into the air, the leap looked as though she had the ability to fly, going into the air with little strain but then coming down like a bullet, she crashed to the ground; she landed in an isolated part of the arena but all of the eyes that fell on her made her feel surrounded.

"W-What the hell?"

"GET HER."

" _Yes, I did it!" Sakura cheered glancing down at her fully djinn equip of Beleth, it had taken so long to perfect it, while she had become skilled with using her magoi with her metal vessels weapon, the djinn equip was on another level unlike anything she had experienced, it felt as though the energy flow of magoi had filled her completely-and then another thought occurred to her, she quickly switched back in alarm._

" _ **What is wrong my king?"**_

" _Oh no, oh no, oh no." she kept muttering, she had been careless, this thought didn't ever occur to her until she finally felt it._

 _Sakura breathed out in relief as she felt the familiar flow within her, something that she had grown accustomed to, something that was once an alien feeling to her as any new sensation was but this one she had been with for nearly two years now._

" _Thank goodness, I haven't stopped."_

" _ **Stopped what?" Sitri asked**_

 _Sakura looked up at the clear sky through the trees, like hands attempting to cover her eyes from the view._

" _It would have been so bad if I had stopped without realising."_

" _ **Stopped what?" Sitri repeated "You're not making any sense."**_

 _A single pointed finger, it landed on her forehead right in the middle. "Listen while I appreciate all this new power, I do not want to rely on it all the time. I am a ninja that means I use chakra and what's more I am…."_

As some of the men went to attack her, their footsteps growing closer, Sakura leaned forward arms behind her, throwing herself to the side to spin around quickly, her foot extending to reach out, coming into contact with a metal chest plate that gave an audible shift, sending a man flying far, extremely far, he crashed straight through the coliseum walls.

"A kunoichi!"

Sakura smirked, she couldn't see it but she could feel it, what she had been worried she lost before she even had it, it was there. She knew what it looked like to, an image of her mentor and village leaders own mark came to mind, the purple rhombus on her forehead, barely the width of a fingertip.

"I finally reached full capacity and can unleash it, perfect timing!"

 _Sakura made several hand signs, her hair reverted back to its normal or rather abnormal colour and then in a puff of smoke appeared a clone, she only wanted to use two in order to reserve her chakra for a very specific reason, things were without a doubt going to get dangerous fast and she wanted to avoid as many casualties as possible and to do that she was going to need to keep the adults away from the children with everything she had._

 _ **The strength of 100 seal,**_ _a seal that required the pinnacle of chakra control, something Sakura thought she was begging to lack because she had started using magoi, tampering with two energies simultaneously was no easy task and while she has never really attempted to use chakra while already using her magoi she had worried that during her mastery of this new form of power that she had temporarily somehow lost contact with the first but lucky for her that had not been the case._

 _This particular jutsu required Sakura to store up chakra for the past three years before the seal could be unleashed and its power activated which would result in an increase in all of her abilities, but she had been growing at an incredible rate since she had started using magoi, somehow her chakra had been altered and the process sped up barely a fraction but over time it was enough to make a difference._

' _And hopefully enough for this,' Sakura thought biting her nail off. This rebellion, she did not want for it to end in loss of lives, she wanted to prevent that, she wanted to believe she could prevent it even though it was considered unavoidable._

" _You stay here, I'm heading to the coliseum." Sakura instructed her clone who nodded compliantly._

" _Got it."_

* * *

Madaura had never seen anything like this before, children fighting against adults, using their weapons to pierce through whatever vulnerable point they could find, neck, head, eyes, whatever wasn't covered in armour and Sakura (the clone) was channelling all of her energy into protecting the children from the guard's assaults. Everything Madaura had, was being taken from her right before her eyes.

'This is…this is…'she clenched her teeth tightly, eyes shifting between closing and widening.

Sakura continued fighting but the guards were becoming more focused on the children who were having more trouble defending themselves even when armed, they were struck down but Sakura did her best to move, though a single clone was not able to be everywhere at once and the children were beginning to scatter from their tight group of defence each were aiming to make it to Madaura but the amount of guards was more than anticipated. Which was odd because given the state of the children that Madaura brought it did not seem necessary to have this many guards but it seemed that Madaura was not completely careless.

A young boy slammed his spear straight through the neck of a guard, only to have one strike him from behind, slashing against his back, blood scattered across the floor but before the final blow could be dealt to the back of the agonised child, Sakura appeared, the guard grabbed by his wrist so hard the snapping was heard throughout the room and then flung across into two other men, straight through the wall.

The Sakura clone bit her bottom lip, eyes darting around for signs of more trouble happening all at once due to the chaos around her, which made it even harder to keep track of where to go first, the original had final unleashed the seal and would not have enhancement of her current abilities and she was half expecting reinforcements by now because despite her abilities, numbers mattered in this case, she could not be everywhere at once and the children were all running around after the adults, the walls and floors were being stained with red-and she was certain that due to her increase in strength she was responsible for some of those stains but she couldn't think about something like that now-not when there was still a lot for her to do now.

Looking up, at the top level she saw Madaura, making her way with her slave Kil towards the door, attempting to escape.

'DAMMIT'

Sakura looked around her, there were still a dozen guards and then there were those children with fatal injuries she hadn't had the time to heal yet, she was going to have to stay here and continue to protect as many of the children as she could even if it meant leaving that women to go free. It gave her the most unsettling, disgusted feeling she could safely say she had ever felt in her entire life!

"FUCK-

A moment distraction of overwhelming emotions was all that was needed for a single nearly dead guard to take his spear and ram it into the clone from behind, he saw as she vanished in a puff of smoke, nothing remaining, he smirked as he collapsed on the ground drowning in a puddle of his own blood. It also brought a new sense of relief to the men who now realised that they were truly fighting only children now….

"Oh shit." Sakura gasped, the memories of her clones came to her, there weren't that many guards remaining but a number of the children were injured and already or on the verge of dying. Then there was still Madaura who was trying to escape!

'I will not allow that to happen!'

* * *

There was still a battle waging on in the coliseum and it was very similar to what was happening back at the Mariadel headquarters. Masrur was taking most of the initiative next to her, fighting with everything he had, his strength unrivalled by any of the men but there were still numbers to take into account. He could not be everywhere at once, the other children were getting their fair share of blood shed on both ends and it was a gruesome sight.

'Madaura….' Sakura shook, a familiar feeling entering her, a fire of fury that set her entire body aflame, she could not allow that women to get away with what she had done, unscathed and alive? 'You won't get far….

Biting the tip of her thumb so she bled and then making several hand signs, Sakura gave a silent pray that this was going to work for she had never attempted it before, but I was all she could do to deal with this many. Her palm slammed on the ground.

'Because I'm going to kill you.'

"Summoning Jutsu-KATSUYU."

From the base of her palm, spread inscriptions that looked like black ink on the ground, reaching far out and would form a circle, within it a large explosion of smoke in that single area and then as it cleared towering over everyone, larger than any of the coliseum beasts, a huge slug of white and blue.

The sudden appearance of the slug temporarily stopped the fighting, shocking mainly the adults as they all took in the sights.

Sakura was relieved to see that her summoning jutsu could actually work in this world, it was a valuable skill for a ninja and at this very moment, extremely vital.

Animals that were summoned typically had intelligence equivalent to that of a humans and they lived in a world separate from the ninja's that needed to summon them. The slug's inward mouth began to move, clearly looking at Sakura.

"Sakura, you called for me."

Not wasting time with unnecessary explanations of the whole situation, Sakura gave her instructions "Katsuyu, split yourself and find every injured child you see but don't help any of the adults! I am going to send my chakra to you so you can heal them"

"But Sakura what is-

"NOW"

The animal fell silent, obeying the pinkette's orders hearing the urgency in her voice, she began to shift, several bumps appearing on the slugs smooth body and then with a falling motion several dozen smaller slugs appeared, moving quicker than any normal slug to begin tending to the injured children. Everyone watched as their now smaller but still far larger than average bodies began to wrap around the children and cover them, a light emitting from them all and healing.

Sakura breathed softly, she was going to have to be on the move while simultaneously sending chakra to the slug-something she has never done before and it was no easy task.

"There are more in that building over there." Sakura instructed pointing over the coliseum to where the Madaura's headquarters towered, it was the most visible building in the whole town.

"Understood."

But it was obvious, Katsuyu did not understand, she did not know what was happening, why there were children with collars and chains killing grownups and with adults retaliating in the same manner as if this was a war, she did not understand why it is that Sakura looked so much older than the last time she had seen her but she did not question anything for it was obvious Sakura would deny any answers.

The chaos resumed once again when one of the guards attempted to strike a still awe struck child which was met with retribution from other angered children but Sakura turned around, her back facing the chaos, her feet began with swift movements and then in an instant she was gone.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

...

"You really are a pathetic coward." A sneer filled the empty streets, every building vacant after news had spread of what had happened in the coliseum. Madaura was crouched over, fatigue from having fled her own home, Kil helping to keep her up but they had encountered some furious children lurking at the exit with weapons ready but Kil had managed to keep them at bay before managing to get away.

However they were not counting on the pinkette appearing in the middle of the streets with a blade held up, the end pointing right at Madaura.

"You thought to escape?" Sakura asked, her voice seemed calloused. "After everything you have done, I will never allow you to get away."

Madaura's eyes shone with burning hate as if in hopes to set Sakura alight but of course that did not happen instead, the pinkette appeared naturally calmed though in contrast it was obvious she was furious.

"I will not allow all those children's deaths….." Sakura gritted out, her steps moving close towards the pair, the weapons held in an airtight grip, her right foot sliding behind her before kicking off to speed forward, charging at Madaura. "TO BE IN VAIN."

The strike was swift, the blade moved so fast it was hard to identify the sharp end of it, barely half a second it had embedded itself in flesh, the sticky warmth covered Sakura's hands but it was not the blood of the person she wanted.

"Lady Madaura…..you….have to get...-away."

"Kil…." Madaura trailed, watching as the last slave still loyal to her, the only one she could have still used was now on the ground, drowning in a puddle of his own blood, eyes already dimmed, lifeless.

Sakura-now awakened from her state of passive hysteria, stared down at Kil, the resolve to kill dissipated before it grew once again, her eyes looked back to Madaura; who was futility attempting to bring the child back to life. Sakura's hands began shaking, she had actually killed someone. It was a bitter settling. She had actually intentionally killed someone, even if the intended person was not the one who was killed, Sakura herself had still intended to kill someone-and she still did.

"At least you won't be a slave anymore."

Madaura's head snapped up at Sakura, disbelief and rage evident on her expression. "IT WAS YOU. YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SET THESE CHILDREN AGAINST ME. YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME."

Instead of responding with words, Sakura flipped the blades hilt so that it was facing downwards, she raised her bloodied hands, her eyes void now of anything now.

"Start anew in hell."

Before she delivered the final strike though, a larger hand grasped her wrist with the hand holding the knife and she was pulled back, colliding with something from behind. Sakura knew who it was without having to turn because of the hardness that came from this grasp…

"Sinbad…"

"That's enough Sakura." Sinbad instructed gently, he removed the knife and dropped it, hearing the 'clink' sound.

Madaura gasped in surprise, "Sinbad! What are you doing here?" there was relief in her voice, as if she was going to be saved but then the next few words from the dungeon conquerors mouth caused her entire world to come crashing down.

"Thanks for the help Sakura, everything went according to plan." Sinbad said, he shifted Sakura around, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, one hand moving to her head to lean her onto his chest.

"Sin-

"You've done enough, rest."

Pointing an accusing finger at the duo Madaura screamed in a hoarse voice "WAIT WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? SINBAD, WAS IT ACTUALLY YOU WHO MANIPULATED MY CHILDREN AND CAUSED THIS REBELLION?"

Sinbad gave a meaningless smile in turn, "I just followed you example and did the same thing you did or rather 'we' followed your example."

"So the two of you were working together the entire time!?" Madaura hissed, narrowing her eyes at them.

"That's right, my partner disguised herself and went through all this trouble just to save me. She helped end your brainwashing and then we ended the other children's as well by implementing the same tactics you had. A heart drowning in misery, with just a touch of motherly love from someone who seeks no benefit from it, made it easy. The children will only listen to us now, you should know how effective those methods are."

Madaura's mouth was hanging open wide for the pure shock of having understood Sinbad's plans, everything came together with a brief explanation.

Sinbad held his sword up towards Madaura's figure, "Now then, will you die here or will you give up everything and run away with your misery? Choose."

* * *

A breeze blew the bangs around Sakura's forehead as she looked up at the now completed full Katsuyu, the slug looked at Sakura, curious for an explanation at last, after having healed the children that were still alive (barely); she had relocated into the forest where she waited for Sakura to come. It was then that Sakura gave the explanation to the slug about her current situation, keeping it as brief as possible.

"So for now, until I get all of the shards of the mirror, I am trapped here."

"Now I see…."

Sakura sighed but then looked up, a small hopeful smile on her face. "Katsuyu, how is Lady Tsunade? I'm sure she along with everyone else thinks I'm missing or dead by now."

Katsuyu's next words shocked Sakura.

"I do not know."

The pinkette frowned, dissatisfied of the answer. "What do you mean by that?"

"I do not know Sakura because I have not been summoned by Lady Tsunade as of yet."

That made no sense, it had been almost THREE years since Sakura had been gone from her world. There was bound to be times when Tsunade would summon Katsuyu and yet all this time and the slug was telling her that she had not been summoned that long?

"That makes no sense…."

But neither did her situation as a whole.

* * *

Cutting the goodbyes short, Sakura had sent Katsuyu back and then Sakura herself went to the coliseum. Sinbad had gone there earlier with Madaura, he was going to make her sign over everything to Sindria Company, it was the only way to ensure the rebelled slaves safety and to make sure Madaura would lose absolutely everything, so she would have nothing to grasp on in hopes to pull herself back to the top. When Sakura arrived she saw Madaura, sweating, scribbling on many different scattered pieces of paper, surrounding her in a tightknit circle, all of the slave children, spears and knives in hand in case of any resistance.

Sinbad held out a scroll "And finally…sign this document to relinquish the ownership of all your slaves."

Madaura reached for the document with a shaking hand and brought her pen down to sign it and then handed it back to Sinbad. He held up the document and gave a loud call.

"As of day, all the slaves here…ARE FREE."

There was an eruption of cheers that went on throughout the coliseum but Sakura knew it would not last long for there were still those departed now to deal with and it was going to be the hardest part of this plan as it comes to a close.

Sakura watched as Madaura left, with nothing but the clothes on her back and the pinkette gave a silent hope that it would be the last they ever saw of that women. She and Sinbad may have taken away her company and everything she worked to build but she had taken much away from the two of them as well. The remains of the 'children' within them would be gone after today, now and forever.

Bodies were being piled together in the coliseum, preparing for a large pyre. It was then that the children abandoned their roles as rebels ready to fight and kill and reverted to children who had suffered a great loss. That was the price they were all apparently paying. While Sinbad and Sakura had paid the price of their integrity and morals, the children had paid with their innocence lost due to blood- shed.

Sakura watched as they continued to move bodies, the cries of the children seemed to grow louder and she could not bring herself to say anything to respond as she normally would. She knew this was going to happen even with the promise to keep them safe, it was still no guarantee. She knew this but they may have thought otherwise.

"Don't cry guys." Sinbad said, his voice sounding strong as well as his expression. "In order to grasp the future they fought with determination and regrettably lost their lives. If those of us who are left don't carry on to fulfil their wishes then who will?! We have to live for their sake."

The children relished in Sinbad's words of reassurance but Sakura on the other hand-she was just happy he finally shut up.

Looking at her hands, she saw they were trembling. 'Can I still use these hands to stop you from killing Sasuke?'

It would be an ironic thing to do now, tainted hands reaching out, wanting to prevents others from tainting theirs. Was such a thing possible?

"So Sinbad was telling the truth, you really were here Sakura."

Of course it wasn't much of a surprise that he of all people should be here to get Sinbad. There was a bit of twisted irony in the situation.

"Ja'far." Sakura acknowledged the young boy but did not turn to face him, still starring at her hands. Just by saying nothing it was as if he was speaking volumes to her, portraying everything he felt in this moment for both her and Sinbad and she did not enjoy it despite knowing she deserved it.

"Is that disdain I see?" Sinbad's voice cut it, it was jokingly dry.

"For what?" Ja'far asked, his voice blank.

"For all of this….I manipulated those children." Sinbad trailed

Sakura immediately thought he should have said 'we' instead of 'I', it was much more fitting but she could not move her mouth, it was as if Ja'far's stony silence had inflicted her own. She was to blame as well, she thought more so about it as Sinbad excluded her further from his accusations as he admitted to knowing that this would have been the result if the children rebelled and admitting still to encouraging it but Sakura knew that she was the one who helped him with this, it wasn't fair that he was the one taking on all of the blame. That he refused to share the burden with her.

"It's ironic isn't it? A man who hates everything unreasonable in the world and wants to create a country in order to stop future wars. Has used the weak to suit his own purposes and stole all the power that he could. In the end, I'm no different from them, Madaura and even Parthevia, for my own sake I am willing to use someone even if it costs them their life. That makes me the worst kind of person." Sinbad turned to now face Ja'far, titling his head down to see the boy's face and in shame.

"You're disappointed aren't you? That such an unsightly, corrupt persons thinks he can change the world. It's almost laughable isn't it?"

Something flashed in Ja'far's eyes and took taken up with their self-pity made it nearly impossible to react as Sinbad fell to the ground with a heavy thud, a bright mark on the side of his face, blood dripped from his nose.

"THIS ISN'T A FUCKING JOKE SINBAD!" Ja'far screamed, his jaw clenched tightly.

Sakura gave a timid step forward, "Ja'far…"

"But I disappointed you didn't I?" Sinbad asked

Drawing his fist back again Sakura shut her eyes, she winced, her sense of hearing heightened due to loss of sight and she could hear the pain of Ja'far's punch. He was not as light handed as he appeared but when it repeated, once, twice, thrice and after ten, Sakura decided that enough was enough, as if every hit gave her a fragment of energy to move again, quickly stepping in and pulling Ja'far away from Sinbad, his face badly beaten with large bruises and blood over his face.

"Ja'far calm down!" even as she said this Sakura couldn't help but note the own weakness in her voice, it sounded more like she was beginning than firmly requesting. They had also attracted the attention of most of the children who turned away from the pyre to see what was happening during their time of mourning. Sinbad lied on his back, arms sprawled out with no coordination, head to the side, on the ground was blood splattered that he had coughed up. "IT WASN'T SINBAD, I WAS THE ONE WHO-

"NO" Ja'far shouted, shoving Sakura away from him which she allowed, knowing he would not have been able to do so if she kept a grip intentionally. "DON'T DEFEND HIM SAKURA, NOT THIS TIME."

Ja'far turned back to Sinbad "You're right, you disappointed me, you're letting yourself sink into despair and giving up, on top of that, having the nerve to act like it's all over….IT'S YOUR NAIVETY THAT DISSAPOINTS ME THE MOST. YOU'RE CALING YOURSELF A CORRUPT PERSON? WE RISKED THE COMPNAY YOU WERE DESPERATELY TRYING TO PROTECT AND GOT OUR HANDS DIRTY PULLING OFF THE SWORST SORT SCAM!"

"Ja'far please!" Sakura attempted again, "This is my fault as well! It wasn't just Sinbad! I knew about his plans and what would happen but I also promised those children that I would protect them…I lied, I knew I wasn't going to be able to save them all but I still promised them that I would."

After you admit to something you feel relatively better but it wasn't the case for Sakura, when she looked back to the pyre filled to the brim with bodies burning of adults and children, everything she had said to them came back to her, and then looking down at her hands she shook.

"I wanted him to be free again, I even killed someone...with my own hands to make sure it happened." Sakura looked into Ja'far's eyes "If anyone has become corrupted here…

A quick slap echoed across the coliseum, Sakura's face was profiled now to the right, a red mark blotched on her pale skin; her eyes were as wide as they could go as she landed on the ground. It was not the first time she experienced a slap, despite how weak it was compared to the punches she received there was a stinging pain it caused within.

"Don't you start too Sakura, if the two of you conducted this together you cannot simply drown in your own sorrow, that's not taking responsibility for anything."

Of course, there was no other way to put this and it was stating the obvious yet they refused to believe that they were doing anything but taking responsibility by enduring all of these feelings of guilt, allowing it to consume them but what else could be done in this situation? With minds that have only recently been tainted?

The looks full of despair only seemed to set Ja'far off further when he looked at Sinbad and Sakura.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THE TWO OF YOU?" he yelled, "Think about that dream Sinbad, that dream that reeled all of us in, towards you! Are you honestly going to give that up just because you got your hands dirty?" Ja'far then turned to Sakura "And you! What the hell is up?! You fucking abandoned us yet you keep coming back! Why?! We were all so convinced that you were going to stay by Sinbad's side and help him build a country and NOW you're saying you are corrupted? All because you came back to help him? You know I think you need to get your priorities straight!"

Sinbad and Sakura were struck speechless, allowing themselves to get scolded by a child several years their junior, but they were hanging on his every word.

When Ja'far spoke again, his voice was far more calmed. "You two…honestly, there's no time to waste complaining anymore; if you want to realise your goals. So get up. Because the next time you two whine, I am going to kill you both."

Sinbad and Sakura didn't realise that they were crying, the tears that were streaming down their faces in large streaks, soft sobs escaping them.

"I'm sorry, Ja'far." Sinbad said wiping his face, his skin burned from the open wounds mixed with fresh tears but the real pain had begun to fade.

Sakura however was not as quick to recover, still crying-something she always seemed to do at the worst of times, when she felt especially hopeless and once she started it was hard to stop. She kept her face covered, even when she felt a presence in front of her and a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura." Sinbad called, still she refused to look at him.

"I….I can't do this, I just can't!" Sakura cried, shaking her head.

How could she? After all she did just kill someone, probably some of those guards as well, she didn't take into account what happened to them after she used her super human strength and then there was all of those children, the ones she sent to death, the ones she promised to protect, the ones burning on that fire….How could she go home like this? How could she face her friends the way she was now? How could she save Sasuke like this?

'Even thought I said I could handle the consequences,' Sakura felt her head now resting against Sinbad's shoulder. She didn't wonder how Sinbad was able to overcome an ordeal like this one, it was because he was strong, strong enough to push through anything, the road to success was not an easy one and apparently it wasn't clean either.

"Let's go home."

 **That's that, phew. It's going to take me a while to write the next chapter but as of now I am officially on holiday so it shouldn't take too long before the next chapter is up, however I am working on my other stories as well.**

 **Don't forget to review-remember the more I receive the sooner the next chapter will appear.**


	27. Confession session

**HEY EVERYONE, I WANT TO THANK YOU-I HAVE REACHED A THOUSAND REVIEWS. I WAS SO HAPPY I DECIDED TO WORK ON THIS CHAPTER ALL DAY JUST TO GET IT UPDATED NOW. I WAS A LITTLE HESITANT AT FIRST BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHPATER WITH ALL YOUR HEART.**

* * *

The journey back to Reim was a short boat ride, well too short in Sakura's terms, of course Masrur and the other surviving children had joined them-as a way for Sinbad to atone and take responsibility. He would be sending the children who still had a home, back to their families and those who were not as fortunate and had no one waiting for them…obviously he was going to take responsibility for them as well. Sakura on the other hand had taken up refuge in a cabin until they arrived at the harbour in Napolia. Sinbad and Ja'far had attempted to coax Sakura into talking but she did not have a feel for it.

When they got back, the entire company had eagerly been waiting their arrival, as expected a celebration broke out upon Sinbad's arrival, during the commotion Sakura crept up into her old room before anyone could see her and locked herself in.

Sakura looked around her old room, no one had used it since she left, everything was still in place exactly as she left it, there had clearly been the occasional cleaning but it was as if it had been specified to keep everything exactly as she left it more than a year ago, Sakura reached her bed, laying on top of the covers, burying her head in her pillow-the scent of spices mixed with the sea. Had Sinbad come to this room? It was difficult to mistake it the smell.

'This scent….'

* * *

The daunting silence did not last long enough in Sakura's opinion, the noises of celebration eventually dimmed to soft patters; apparently Sinbad and Ja'far had informed the others that she was back because it wasn't long after, there were knocks on her door, all from different people every time.

The first was Ja'far who had called her to come down and eat but she did not listen, then it was Hinahoho's voice she heard from behind her door and the one that nearly got her to move from the bed was Rurumu, the softness of her voice promising comfort had nearly drawn her out but she did not want to face anyone she knew right now, she did not want to answer whatever questions they would have for her nor did she want to endure the tension that would wrap around them if they decided to restrain themselves because either way it was a cause for discomfort she could not handle right now.

"Sakura, I brought you some food, open the door," she heard Sinbad call to her "It's all of your favourite dishes-come on please-Sakura you have to eat-You don't have to let me in, just come and take the food-Sakura please…."

That had gone on for a good thirty minutes but even so Sakura refused to open the door. Every time Sakura heard him call for her a stirring began in the pit of her stomach but that gave her all the more reason not to open the door.

"Sakura, please, I know you're upset but you don't have to endure this alone. Just please-

"Sinbad."

Another voice interrupted, Sakura heard it vaguely through the wooden door and she knew in an instant that it was female. The voices grew softer, as though they did not intend for her to hear and then a set of footsteps lead away from her door but there was then another knock after they had vanished, this one was much softer.

"Miss Haruno, can I come in?"

This wasn't anyone Sakura was familiar with, she was certain of that, while Sinbad had a habit of gathering new employees almost every day for the company-that included those who have been under less orthodox circumstances, like Ja'far, Vittel and Mahad (not as extreme). This must have been a new employee because Sakura was usually very certain to familiarise herself with everyone in the company but it had been a while since she had left it.

"Miss Haruno," the girl called again "I have your meal here-don't worry-I am alone."

She sounded reassuring as if that was all it would take for Sakura to open the door but this was not a person Sakura knew, therefore-

'She won't ask unwanted questions.' Sakura concluded and she was very hungry, after a battle and barely eating while under Madaura's roof….

"I'm coming." Sakura called moving from her bed with great hesitance, she soothed her slightly dishevelled hair and opened the door but what she saw was far from what she expected. A girl, obviously a few years older than Sakura-but not by much, her eyes and hair were the same colour but different shades, a dark pink for her eyes and her hair, short until her shoulders-a pink lighter than Sakura's but that seemed to be their only common feature. Sakura noted that while the girl was petite, her body was far more voluptuous in comparison to her own; she wore the uniform of the Sindria trading company employees, the overcoat with green lining. The unknown girl held out a plate to Sakura.

"May I come in?"

Sakura hesitated but backed away from the door to allow her to enter, now intrigued. She watched as the girl whose name she was still to learn set her rather large plate, scattered with a varieties of different foods on her nightstand and then turned back to face her. Sakura felt as though she was being investigated under the girls gaze.

"Um, is there something on my face?"

Although Sakura felt it had more to do with the marks around her neck (wrists and ankles as well) where the chains once settled for days. The bruises would take a while to heal on their own but Sakura did not want to heal them with chakra.

Blinking several times the older girl shook her head "No of course not! It's just I have heard so much about you…."

Sakura gave a dry laugh, "I can't really imagine what would be said."

The girl gasped with realisation "Oh that's right I have not introduced myself, I am Serendine."

The name clicked in Sakura's mind quickly thanks to her sharp mind, Serendine-pink hair… "Wait, Serendine-as in the princess of Parthevia-the country where Sinbad's from?"

"Oh you've heard of me?" Serendine asked with a nervous gleam.

Goodness knows she had the right after all Sinbad had told Sakura all about the princess who had come personally to deal with Sinbad after he had humiliated the Parthevia army that had gone after Baal's dungeon, only to be outdone by a fourteen year old boy. From what Sinbad had told her, Serendine had confronted him at the docks before he was going to board his boat that took him to Imuchakk.

"Only that you're a princess of Parthevia and someone Sinbad had sexually assaulted." Sakura deadpanned and Serendine looked like she had just finished choking.

It wasn't too far from the truth, he had after all managed to cut the straps of her breast plate's armour and he temporarily abducted her to get away on his boat before throwing her overboard in a barrel….but why did he have to tell her of the humiliation?

"Don't worry." Sakura interjected noticing Serendine's discontent expression. "I have endured humiliations just as bad thanks to Sinbad."

Of course she would not go into specifics right now.

Serendine gestured back to the untouched plate, "Sinbad and the others would really like you to eat something-well they would like to see you as well but…."

Shaking her head Sakura sat down on her bed, "It would seem so. They were insisted enough to take shifts knocking on the door for nearly two hours."

"I thought as co-head of the company you would want to see everyone." Serendine stated.

Sakura frowned then and held up her hand "Wait, co-head? I've never actually been an employee at Sindria never mind a co-

"Oh I'm sorry!-It's just that I heard so much about you from everyone and-they seem to think very highly of you and-well that you and Sinbad were working together-even about-

"No, no, I totally get it." Sakura assured, seeing the nervous beads of sweat on Serendine's forehead. "It's not that unusual to hear things like that but I assumed they died down. Anyway it's not like that at all."

Serendine nodded, "So, would you like me to leave you to your meal?"

"Actually." Sakura said just as Serendine reached the door; she patted side of the bed motioning for her to sit. This girl-who she had just met, helped Sakura turn slightly away from the darkness the current chain of events had wrapped around her and she wanted to see if it was possible to move even further away.

"I could use some company and I prefer someone who isn't going to look at me like I'm making them dance on thin ice."

Serendine nodded, "Of course."

….

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….

The minutes turned into hours, small talk turned serious and hidden expressions were no more. Despite all of the people she had met through her travels Sakura had never actually met any female close to her age, it wasn't something she really minded since it didn't occur to her that many girls her age would be able to relate to her situation or path she was currently taking as a dungeon capturer or a fighter. Serendine-despite being a princess was in particular relation to Sakura on many levels. They discovered that both of them were a bit quick tempered, that they were underestimated because of the colour of their hair and gender, that they were the kind of girl who would choose a fine blade over a fine dress, they were both experts with poison.

"Wait so your friend actually threw an aconite flower into a girl's mouth?" Serendine asked snickering.

Sakura nodded, "Yes, but they didn't know only the root was poisonous."

"Hahaha that reminds me of the time I chased around the children of a noble around the palace with a snake-of course it wasn't poisonous."

…

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"I'm better at handling short range weapons, like kunai but recently I've been learning long range." Sakura explained, watching as Serendine stared at Gaap's metal vessel in her hands.

"I've only seen a half djinn equip before…." Serendine said, "But the level of power was terrifying."

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"I mean I complained to my father so many times-why can't I just wear my armour to the meeting?"

Sakura laughed softly, covering her mouth "I know, you're expected to dress in clothes that takes two people to put on and lace up."

"Exactly! But how did you know…."

Scratching her cheek, eyes averted to the side Sakura replied, "Well let's just say I've had my fair share of palace life."

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Then the two girls also discovered that they did not have the best of luck when it came to men either. Sakura laughed especially hard when Serendine told her about all the times she scared away her suitors until an arranged marriage was made for her which she avoided by running away but there was more too that story than that.

"Actually, it's the reason I'm here." Serendine began softly, her voice turning cold.

She then proceeded to tell Sakura what happened the day of her wedding, how Dragul/Drakon (Sakura remembered him from that time in Imuchakk) appeared, his older brother Barbarossa-the man who Sakura also remembered tried to have them killed in Valefor's dungeon; ordered for Drakon to be executed. How she discovered that Barbarossa had killed her father and was using her for the crown to gain power and then how they escaped from Parthevia. Then came seeking refuge at Sindria (with very little detail of the journey as it seemed like a scarring one)

"Serendine, I am sorry, that sounds terrible." Sakura said.

"That's not even the worst part," Serendine took a breath "I ran away leaving my country in the hands of that man, my little brother is still there and I don't know what's happened to him and here I am, hiding. I feel as though I've abandoned my own country."

Sakura placed a firm hand on Serendine's shoulder, "It couldn't be helped," she insisted "If you had stayed you would have given more power to that man and no offense, but from the last encounter I don't think that prick would have made a good husband for you."

Serendine looked down solemnly, this was only the second time she had spoken about what had happened in Parthevia, the first time was with Sinbad when they had arrived. "I have run away from my own country…"

"At least you will be able to fight another day," Sakura hissed strongly, "Besides I think it was the right decision to leave, you probably wouldn't have been able to do much if you had stayed-I'm sorry but it's the truth and if he had actually murdered your father who's to say he wouldn't have done the same to you after you were married? If you already gave him the crowns matrimony then there would be no reason to keep you around-unless of course he first wanted an heir which I doubt you would be willing to give. Trust me, I think you made the right choice."

The room became silent, Sakura leaned against the wall stretching out her bruised legs "I know what it's like, to have left your home and not being able to return. You feel a longing to return, but you know you can't and that's the worst part of it. It causes you unimaginable pain and all you can do is endure it. You find it hard to enjoy the world around you-it's difficult….but not impossible."

Serendine looked at Sakura with what she could only describe as disbelief, how was she expected to understand the pains of abandoning those she cared about? An entire country. Yet the way Sakura spoke, that look in her eyes that mirrored Serendine's, it was as if they were of one heart.

"Anyway; you're here now so I think that you should look at this as a chance." Sakura said finally, allowing Serendine to contemplate on Sakura's words for a few moments.

"Huh?" Serendine peaked back at Sakura from under her lashes.

Sakura shook her head, refusing to elaborate any further before looking back at the door. She got up and put her hand on the handle without opening it. "Well I'd like to continue talking to you but I would prefer when we're not being spied on."

Ripping the door open Sakura glared down at an awestruck, frightened guilty party of Sinbad, Ja'far, Hinahoho and Mystras, all holding glasses in their hands to put against the door.

"Eavesdropping, really?" Sakura asked, eyebrow raised at the males.

The four stood up quickly, but the change in height did not seem to lessen their fear of the pinkette's wrath as they backed away carefully.

"W-Welcome back Sakura. It's good to see you again!" Mystras greeted with a nervous wave but only to be met with piercing emerald daggers.

"Um…." Trailed Ja'far.

"We'll just be…" Mystras trailed.

"Anywhere but here." Finished Hinahoho as he gathered the two boys under his large arms and made their escape leaving Sinbad standing there alone to deal with Sakura and Serendine but he did not seem like he wanted to leave just yet.

Serendine stood up and took her leave as well. "I enjoyed speaking to you Miss Haru-Sakura,"

She didn't say anything else but Sakura knew she had given the girl a lot to think about.

Sakura returned her gaze back to Sinbad, who did not look like he had taken his eyes off of her either.

"How long were you eavesdropping?" Sakura asked narrowing her eyes.

Sinbad leaned to the back, arms crossed "Come now, eavesdropping is such a crude word. We were simply filling ourselves in ahead of time to save you the trouble-it should be called consideration."

Sakura raised an eyebrow in return, "Sure and hell should just be called a sauna."

A fit of snickers broke out in the silent hallway, the laughter seemed like an attempt to remove the tension that was still lingering over them. Sakura then took a hold of Sinbad's coat, the dark lining with a cream colour-the uniform of the head of the company.

"I see you're already settled."

Sinbad grinned, reaching out to gently grasp Sakura's wrist and tug her along gently, as if he was ready for her to pull away and close the door on them again. "Come with me."

"Wha-

"You do want to get your djinn back right?"

* * *

Sakura knew that Sinbad was taking her to his office, even though it had been so long since she had been there and the company had changed, grown in fact. She still the exact way to get to his office. The halls were silent on the way though, as if everyone had been told to make themselves scarce on the top floor.

"I see you still can't keep your workspace clean," Sakura responded almost mechanically, unintentionally. There were papers scattered across the floor, piles of scrolls on the desk and she didn't miss the fan-mail especially close to his desk.

Sinbad snickered, feeling a little lighter at the pinkette's behaviour. "Well, that's just because I didn't have a partner with superhuman strength to yell at me anymore."

Kicking aside a discarded scroll, that may or may not be of importance Sakura came around Sinbad's desk. "Where is she?"

Sinbad soon moved beside Sakura at the back of his desk and crouched down. He pulled out the bottom draw, which was filled with documents and before Sinbad could turn around and speak Sakura beat him to it.

"Please tell me you didn't recklessly stuff my metal vessel in a draw!" Sakura exclaimed, frowning at him.

"Wait-wait!" Sinbad said, holding out his hands in defence, in case Sakura decided to strike him. He began shuffling around in the draw until a 'pop' was heard and the documents came out along with the bottom layer of the draw.

"This draw has a hidden compartment where I usually keep my valuables." Sinbad said, placing the bottom of the draw on one side. He then turned back to look inside the draw but frowned at what he saw.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked

"Well….you're metal vessel is still here-actually all of you metal vessels are here." Sinbad turned around, holding all four of Sakura's metal vessels in his hands. "And wait-when did you get a fourth?"

Sakura couldn't contain her gasp of surprise, Yunan must have left them there for her when she returned. She wasn't sure if she should be worried or impressed that he knew where Sitri was. He did say he watched over them.

'Crafty guy.' She thought while taking her metal vessels from Sinbad.

"Hey guys," Sakura wasn't able to hold back her smile as she heard her djinn's voices cry out in rejoice.

" _My king!" Beleth and Stolas cried out in joy._

" _About time!" Gaap said, though his voice held a soft relief._

" _WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG?" Sitri cried_

Sakura cried out, smiling as she cuddled her vessels closer to her chest. "I missed you all…even you Sitri."

" _HEY"_

"Wow, never thought I'd want to be a djinn." Sinbad said out loud. Sakura's head turned back to Sinbad, her slim eyebrow perched upwards.

"Same old Sinbad," Sakura rolled her eyes.

With another light snicker, Sinbad wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders, "Well now will the old Sinbad be seeing the old Sakura soon?"

Just as a single hit on the wrong chord was enough to ruin the perfect melody of a song, did Sinbad's words break Sakura from her brief state of happiness and perhaps what was denial. It had been in those few minutes after Serendine that she was able to forget-a few minutes of locking away those terrible memories and disgusting crawls over her skin but now they were coming back all at once. What right did she have to forget them? What right did she have to smile after what she saw? What she did…

Head down, eyes obscured Sakura spoke with her voice now void. "Is there anything else in the draw-my bag and mirror?"

Deciding better than to protest, Sinbad turned around for a second and pulled out Sakura's voyage bag. "That's all…"

Glancing to the draw to check again, Sakura's eyes narrowed as it dawned on her, 'It's not there.'

Yunan had said that the looking glass might not work for her if she saved Sinbad, but now she couldn't even confirm the assumption because he still had it. She should have been more concerned, given more of a reaction, worry should've settled deep within the pit of her stomach, but she felt-nothing. There wasn't that sinking sick feeling of hopelessness and a thought occurred to Sakura. Where was it?

'It's not like I can go back like this anyway right?' she concurred, 'But if I can't go back…

Taking her silence as a turn to speak, Sinbad cleared his throat "Sakura?

She looked back at him, masking herself with a smile. "Yes?"

Narrowing his eyes, Sinbad folded his arms and leaned closer towards Sakura, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sakura waved her hand around, letting out a strained laugh "I've got everything so I'll just be-

Once again, firmly grasping her wrist; Sinbad spun the pinkette around before she could retreat out of his office.

"You're leaving already?" Sinbad asked, disappointment evident in his voice.

Her heart was starting to beat quickly in her chest, she turned her head away from the shining golden eyes. "I….have to-

What? What did she have to do now? The looking glass was what lead her to the dungeons, to the conquerors, to the shards. She decided to save Sinbad knowing the price she might have to pay, but now that it was all done, she realised just how steep that price truly was-not to mention there was interest included. And yet why was it, that she felt nothing for having done it? Where were those feelings of sorrow that were eating her alive just a few hours ago?

"You know." Sinbad said, "I haven't really gotten the chance to thank you properly. If there's any-

"You don't need to thank me and you don't have to give me anything." Sakura quickly interjected, keeping her tone brash. Sinbad looked at her, eyes contemplating response-until finally, he decided to stop.

"Why Sakura?" He waited for her to look at him and when she didn't he continued, "Why did you put yourself in that position just to save me?"

Again she didn't respond, her lips tightly shut; in a manner than appeared forced, but Sinbad would not stop. She felt his grip tighten, determined to keep her in place. "Because…I'm you friend Sinbad."

Sinbad frowned for a moment before he scoffed with a humourless smile. "Friend huh? For some reason, I don't like that word anymore."

Sakura looked at him, her eyebrows coming together as a clue to her confusion, but Sinbad did not explain any further.

"Even so-Why did you go along with my plans?" Sinbad asked, his face twisted as if in pain, he gripped the end of his hair with his free hand. "You're; not the kind of person who would ever agree with what I did, and you're strong in your own beliefs, yet you followed me through. Even though-even though it's made you like this!"

Silence began choking them, as the two attempted to collect themselves, to find reason and a way to respond to the other without completely breaking. Sakura wanted nothing more than to dispel this eerie silence. It only took her a second to realise it, after she looked up and saw Sinbad's expression, she could actually see how badly this affected him; seeing her the way she was now. She didn't want him to look like that. It was the same when she found out that he had been thrown into the valley in Artemyra and when she discovered he had been taken as a slave.

"All those times I've stood up for you, every time you've gotten yourself in trouble; all I wanted to do was help you. That's it, everything I did-was for you Sinbad…." Sakura spoke, her voice cool and cold so that she could hide behind it. "I can't take it…going back and forth like this. I should have just turned around and never looked back; but I couldn't."

Sakura took a breath, feeling as if the temperature in the room was increasing. "I need to leave-I can't go home anymore, but I can't stay here either."

"Why is that?" Sinbad asked, though Sakura could practically feel him gritting his teeth.

"Because if I stayed-if I stayed, it would be like I am replacing my old life with a new life and that would be an act of betrayal!"

Her voice pricked like thin shards of ice, sharp and cold. She had already betrayed those in her world. She had turned her backs on them right after Yunan had warned her, she was turning her back on those in the past for the present. It was a constant conflict tearing her apart, yet she could not bring herself to understand the gravity of it. She also realised it wasn't just about the people she was associating with, it was about her life, her priorities and who she was. She was replacing all of it. From a ninja to a dungeon conqueror. The Hokage's apprentice to a merchant, a traveller.

Then the last one-it wasn't a replacement, it wasn't a trade, it was a connection. Actions and feelings both intertwined, but one was becoming stronger than the other…

This wasn't worry or fear of betrayal, when it had already been done, this was retribution for everything she has done up to this point.

'Maybe it would be better if I just disappeared from both worlds.'

"Have you thought about how everyone else might feel about this?" Sinbad asked, sounding like he was losing patience, "About you leaving us again?"

"It's okay." Sakura said, calmly-surely, "Whether I am here or not, won't make a difference in the end, because I don't belong here….I don't belong anywhere."

Sinbad frowned, not bother to conceal his dissatisfaction, it was rare to see him lose face of his charismatic character but you knew that when he did; everything needed to be accounted for and taken with gravity. "Ja'far was right, you do need to get your priorities straight."

"What?" Sakura gasped, she knew she should've been angry. She was basically cutting herself open right in front of him and he had to say something like that to her in return? It was like pouring salt into a raw wound.

Sinbad took a step back, spreading his arms out "You did it for me? You SHOULD have turned around and never look back? You can' take this back and forth? How the hell do you think I feel about it!?"

Sakura backed away from Sinbad, as if his sudden change of tone produced a force that pushed her. "Sinbad-

He held up his hand to stop her, "No! You are not going to open your mouth and go talking crap again, about how you've been putting your life on hold for my sake!"

"What the hell!?" Sakura stomped her foot on the ground, "I'm trying to tell you not to worry-

"WELL I DO WORRY." Sinbad snapped, tilting his head up, Sinbad covered his eyes with his. "I've thought about you every day! When I was working, travelling, even in the beginning when I became a slave!"

Sakura's mouth opened slightly, gaping but unable to respond. Sinbad in hysterics, not only a rare sight but an unpredictable one. He was passionate, yes but his calm and confident demeanour was what drew you to hang on his every word and believe it all; no matter how ludicrous it may have sounded. Though now…he still had that sharp edge to his voice that firmly planted his beliefs but it was different-desperate.

"I've even found myself smiling when I have piles of work on my desk, I'm behind on deadlines and I feel like I'm ready to fall over. Then I realise I was thinking about you! Not being able to see your face for so long and it comes to that."

"Sinbad-

"And don't even get me started on our expansion plans-I had to postpone that because I couldn't function properly as the companies head after you went missing-SO DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT IT WOULDN'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF YOU WERE GONE."

Sakura was really taken aback by Sinbad's outburst, his usual behaviour tended to irritate her because he appeared to hardly take things seriously but as of right now she would've preferred it. As his severity was directed at her right now.

"Say you leave again; I've literally just returned from a traumatizing experience, do you think I'm going to be able to cope with everything on my own?"

Sakura turned around, closing her eyes tight "You have Ja'far, Rurumu, Vittel, Mahad, Hinahoho and Mystras! They can help you handle everything!"

"But they're not the ones who are able to handle this!"

There were three heavy footsteps followed by a tight hand grasping her shoulder to spin her back around, facing Sinbad once again. He took the hand from her shoulder, quickly snatching up Sakura's hand and placing it centre left of his chest. Where Sakura felt a rapid but soft patter.

"What am I supposed to do about this!?" He asked, nearly screaming.

Sakura seemed to be on pause, her entire body still until she finally managed to come up with a simple line in her head, now all that was left was to say it out loud. A distant memory recreated.

"Just say Sakura, thank you-the rest should be easy…."

Rapidly shaking his head, Sinbad stepped closer, "I need you-can't you understand that!"

Taking his free hand, Sinbad drew Sakura nearer-their noses touched and their eyes could not have been closer. "I can't do this anymore either…." Sinbad trailed.

Sakura could feel her cheeks burning hot, her eyes were as wide as they could go and her mouth wanted to move; to say something. "Sinbad…" Sakura trailed softly, closing her eyes "I-I'm not the same anymore. I can't just go back to being-

"I DON'T CARE." Sinbad screamed. "Your appearance, your abilities, your djinn's, your strange power; none of that matters. You don't have to use any of it to help the company or me. As long as you remain where I can see you-that's all I care about." Sinbad stated, a light blush dusting his cheeks in turn.

"I know I'm not your ideal, I'm selfish, greedy, conceited, have bad habits and I know you have a whole long list but even so I want you to stay with me. I don't want you to abandon me." He took a breath, "In return for all of that; I'll always forgive you no matter what, I'll sacrifice for you, I'll respect you, I'll stay committed to you; I'll protect you,"

Sakura jumped as she felt Sinbad's arm tighten around her; she was still processing Sinbad's words, trying to fathom and decipher any hidden meaning behind what he was saying. Yet, she could not come up with anything, his words sounded, genuine, honest and it was frightening. Then something occurred to her. The same thing that came to mind when she was questioning herself while being held as a slave. It was something she has unknowingly been fighting against for a very long time, ever since she came to this world and met him.

' _I would do anything for the sake of seeing the one I love happy, even if I wouldn't be.'_

' _When you're willing to do anything for them, no matter the consequences, no matter how much it hurts.'_

Sakura felt the edge of her mouth curve up, 'It's just as I feared. I-

Sinbad gasped after he felt Sakura's arms around his waist, he felt a sudden warmth despite already being so close to her. Her head rested on his chest, Sakura heard the rukh fluttering around them. Those previous thoughts and conclusion that she had been afraid to verify, had finally brought her to a greater understanding of it; as she accepted them. In return something happened. She felt her heart begin to settle with something she has not felt in a long while-content. She knew what needed to be said in order for this feeling to remain; despite the obvious risks that would come with it.

"Okay, I'll stay."

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Giggling, snickering to herself, rolling back and forth on the matrass, tossing and turning among the sheets; Sakura was able to everything but close her eyes. Her mind continuously drifted through today's turn of events, everything. Returning to Sindria, somehow carrying more than what she left with, meeting the princess Serendine and being confessed to by (in all honesty), the last person she was expecting.

Sakura slapped her hands on her warm cheeks, shaking her head. What was wrong with her? This giddiness wasn't something she felt since she was twelve! Even then, she was sure it wasn't to this great an extent.

" _Aw, so you are a normal girl after all." Sitri commented offhandedly. "Then again considering you didn't even notice his wandering hands during your lip lock…"_

Sakura choked up a laugh, shifting among the sheets. "T-That was my mistake, he caught me off guard!"

" _Mmm"_

" _I honestly do not approve of this!" Beleth stated._

Sakura raised an eyebrow, amused. "You don't approve?"

" _My king, that man is a womanizing drunk, who has taken advantage of your kind heart one too many times. I do not believe he would suite you."_

Sakura chuckled, turning on her side, "And just who would suite me Beleth? It's not like I have a list of options-

" _I kinda liked that prince Kouen." Gaap interjected "He was mysterious, intelligent and he didn't bat an eyelash when I tried to drown him."_

" _Well perhaps, but he did blackmail our king and Sinbad had given such a heartfelt confession…." Stolas trailed. "But there was still the first prince, Hakuyuu."_

" _I don't know who you are all talking about because I was stuffed in a draw-but considering the guy did steal me, I am not a big fan either." Sitri added._

" _Oh, this is a good one!" Gaap exclaimed, "They were in my dungeon-_

Sakura could feel the cool air on her tongue as her mouth hung open in disbelief, her djinns had literally seemed to have made a list and taken a vote. She was now blushing for an entirely different reason. As she put her djinn's metal vessels aside so she wouldn't have to listen to them anymore.

However, she found herself recollecting about the Kou family. It hadn't been in ideal circumstances that they met, but at the end of it she had grown close to them-all of them. She smiled when she thought about the games she use to play with, Kougyoku, Hakuryuu and Hakuei; the (at times disturbing) lessons with Kouha, the spars she had with the charismatic Hakuren. Then she thought about Kouen and Hakuryuu…although it seemed at the beginning that they were meant to be nothing for one another, Sakura had found herself considering Kouen her friend, and perhaps it would've been the same for Hakuyuu had it not been for that night. Her time in Kou was still a fresh memory, but it had all been overshadowed by the short time she had spent as a slave. Although she knew it wasn't the harshest environment for a slave to live in, it had her thinking how many people in this world, have had their lives destroyed; by this system.

* * *

 _At first, there was nothing-nothing but darkness, she called out but her voice was gone. She wanted to see something, anything. However, that wish was all too soon granted, and from what she could now see and hear, she would've preferred returning to the darkness. She was outside, but there was no feeling of heat or cold. She could see everything clearly; the flames dancing around her, mocking her as they touched and destroyed everything and everyone around her. Blood splayed across the ground, covering almost every speck of dirt; creating a pool of red._

 _Then there were the screams, echoing through her head and despite how loud they were, she could still hear the cruel rattles of chains._

' _What is this?'_

 _She wanted to run, to scream, to close her eyes, but she couldn't. Her body was immobile. Forcing her to endure the horrifying sight before her._

 _Children and men in armour scattered the ground, drowning in a sea of their own blood. Amongst all of the agony, a single silhouette figure emerged from the flames, untouched by them, a confident stride._

 _Sakura's eyes widened, terror reaching out and grasping around her neck tightly._

" _Isn't this amazing?" It asked, grinning wildly, "The things we can do, it's glorious isn't it?"_

 _The mysterious figure began to make its features know, a slim female body, short pink hair that stuck out wildly, eyes were green but the sclera was pitch black, a rhombus shaped mark on her forehead. A far darker version of herself in short._

 _Then Sakura's eyes trailed to her hand, a chain wrapped around it, travelling down to another person lying at her feet, eyes cold, body-pale, blood dripping at the end of his mouth, blood continued to pour from him and touched her feet._

" _Wasn't it fun?" Sakura stopped breathing as she heard the whisper so close to her ear, the figure now behind her._

 _She wanted to say no, that she never meant for this to happen, but her mouth refused to obey her thoughts._

" _But you did!" the dark voice hissed, it sounded like it was in pain, "You wanted all of this….."_

 _Sakura felt her hand grasping something tightly, lifting it up, she caught sight of her own reflection and realised she had risen a blade above her head, ready to plunge._

" _COME, LET ME SHOW YOU."_

 _Her hand fell forward._

* * *

When Sakura awakened, she wasn't able to get out the scream lodged in her throat like a big chunk of meat. Tossing the covers aside, her footsteps were heavy on the wood as she slammed the door open, without a care for who might wake up, until she finally made it outside. Taking big gulps of the chilly night air, the sickening feeling that came just before you threw up began to fade.

She was barefoot, wearing nothing but her sports bra and shorts yet it took a good five minutes before she could feel the cold, her body temperature returning to normal after a heated nightmare.

'That dream….' Sakura panted, craning her head back. Usually dreams were easily forgotten, but the effects, what they made you feel, is something that would remain for much longer than the source. The details of the dream were already fading in Sakura's mind, but there were still certain things that remained. The fire and blood, the screams and the girl-a darkened version of herself. A killer.

Her hands, she looked at them, so small, so frail in appearance and yet the things they were capable of was remarkable. She prided herself on having hands like these, they were able to comfort and heal; it was something they had always done since the beginning of her genin days. Then she started to grow and it wasn't enough, so she learned and became stronger. So that her hands could protect just as well as they could heal.

After all of that she came here, to this world and suddenly, the hands she prided herself on began getting dirty. She didn't see it at the time, but looking back it had started from day one in this new world. She was fighting all the time, she tried to stay true to herself, but then she found herself (unconsciously) falling, for a boy who needed her to set aside her own morals and values in order to achieve his goals. She did, without realising the real consequence, what might become of her if she kept turning back for him. It wasn't his fault though, at the end of it, she was the one who chose to walk this path, to remain beside him. She wanted to see him succeed, to achieve his goals, even at her own expense.

Covering her face with her hands, she held back tears, she would never be able to tell him any of this. Sinbad would surely become guilt stricken, he was far from a heartless person.

However, everything in life has a price and somewhere along the line, you needed to pay.

"Sakura,"

The pinkette frowned, hearing the soft, expressionless voice calling her from above. Looking up, right on top of the roof of the company she spotted the tiny red head. Sitting at the edge of the roof.

* * *

"What are you doing up here Masrur?" Sakura asked, now sitting beside the young Fanalis boy. Apparently he had been sitting there for a while, long before Sakura came running outside. At first Masrur didn't respond, he was just staring at her, but he didn't give away any indication as to why.

"I couldn't sleep."

Sakura sighed when he finally responded, "So you've just been sitting up here, for how long?"

Masrur gave a tiny shrug, however Sakura could think of plenty of things that would keep this young boy awake. He was a child, being taken from a life of imprisonment and slavery, brought to a new environment, where he wouldn't know what to expect. Sakura pulled Masrur close to her, her arm over his shoulder.

"Since I can't read your mind, care to share the thoughts keeping you up?" Sakura suggested, smiling down at him, even though he wasn't looking at her. She wasn't' sure she would be getting a response from Masrur, he wasn't like the other children Sakura had interacted with. He didn't have your typical tragic childhood background, nor did he interact in that usual manner most children had. One that lacked in experience and voice, not to mention level of maturity. Masrur was beyond all of that.

Then Masrur pointed horizontally across the building, to the side. Sakura squinted her eyes, as she looked closer, she saw that the wall of the building there had been cracked and it was missing a peace of its structure. Standing up, Sakura moved in to closer inspect it and gasped when she saw that there appeared to be a long straight line of rubble forming a path. As if someone had been attacked and thrown across to the other side.

"How did that-

"It was that big man, Hinahoho I think was his name." Masrur replied. "He threw me across the building."

Sakura's sweat dropped at the casualness of Masrur's disturbing statement. She wondered what would induce Hinahoho to throw a child across a building roof! Before she would confront him about it, she'd get the whole story from Masrur-she did not want to get an earful from Rurumu at the end of this.

"I was sitting up there and he climbed up when I wouldn't come down." Masrur started, "I said I didn't want to come down because I didn't have anything left. I lost my home and family, I only had fighting but since I was freed from slavery, I didn't have that anymore. There was nothing I wanted to do."

Sakura's eyes looked at Masrur with genuine empathy, of course he wouldn't understand why. "Then he attacked me and said to show him just how different I was from the rest of you. After that he threw me into the wall."

"Okay…."

Now she really wanted to go and give Hinahoho a piece of her mind, however Masrur's next words changed her decision as quickly as she made it up.

"It was amazing." He said, looking at his hands, recollecting, "It was the first time I had met someone like that. Then I was told, that there were other's-stronger than him. He mentioned you and then all the other different people here. He told me, that this was a place that will accept you no matter who you are and that I should start looking for something I want to do. My choices are up to me, that's what it means to be free."

The rukh were fluttering strongly around the usually stoic boy, now he had a hint of happiness shining in his eyes. A sight she was sure would be rare. Somehow seeing him like this, made Sakura's heart feel lighter. All she wanted was to rescue Sinbad, but she had ended up doing so much more than that. She was only seeing the negative effects of her actions and chances were she would for a long time (perhaps the rest of her life). That did not meant that she should overlook the good that has come from this.

Pulling Masrur closer, Sakura rested her chin on his head. "You know, you're right. You're allowed to make your own choices now."

Masrur then asked a question that really surprised her, "Sakura, are you going to stay?"

She pulled back to look Masrur in the eye, "What? Why would you ask me something like that?"

Masrur looked down, his hand curled in his lap, "I heard that you might be leaving,"

She wanted to reassure him, however it wasn't something she or Sinbad had the time to mention as of yet. That was going to wait for the next day, while it may put Masrur's mind at ease, there was something she wanted to know first.

"Well I was with Sindria when it just started, but I had something I wanted to do; so I ended up leaving."

Masrur muttered, in a voice so soft Sakura nearly didn't hear him, but he spoke at just the right volume for only her ears. "Are you going to leave again?"

"Why do you ask?" Sakura already knew that Masrur wasn't very talkative, the fact that he was talking this long was surprising, along with his other quirks, but despite this she did her best to understand him and she had not failed yet.

"Because I decided what I want to do." Masrur said "But I need to be where you are."

Smiling, Sakura gave him a reassuring squeeze, Masrur's head resting on her chest. "Well I'm not going anywhere right now. So if that's what you want right now, just stay with Sindria and you'll find me."

Masrur didn't reply, he didn't need to.

* * *

Sinbad had woken up early the following morning, a habit he developed after his time away. There was a lot to do, returning to Sindria at last however, he had set what he considered priority to be taken care of as soon as possible; and it did not involve paper work. He was making his way from the kitchen, a grin on his face and tray in hand.

'She isn't going to think this is overkill right?' he wondered,

Sakura had made it clear yesterday that he did not want him overdoing it just because of their recent-development. However he was sure she wouldn't mind breakfast in bed; it was a bit of role reversal, since she used to be the one to do this for him. He didn't know how that started, since she would just throw him out of bed-something about not wanting to catch him naked again. It was a bit of a compromise, he would be ready early for work, if she brought him breakfast in bed.

He sighed, thinking back to that time he had really taken advantage of her in more ways than one-and she didn't even consider herself a real employee, just a friend.

'Some friend I was.' Sinbad thought, catching his reflection in the contents of the cup, 'I'll have to make up for it now.'

The recent turn of events had taken much from him, but he had also gained something. Something he had been chasing for almost two years-or rather someone. When Sakura said she was leaving, he knew that she had no intention of ever returning. He wasn't sure if it was a natural response to a human's greed that knew no bounds, or perhaps his fear of the paths she would cross if she left for good, but he did not want her to go-he would not let her.

It didn't matter now though, because she had agreed to stay herself. He was also the kind of person to gain the favour of other people and create bonds that made him stand out amongst others. While many would call this one of his best qualities, that wasn't how Sakura viewed him when they met. She was far more guarded and on top of that, she would never allow herself to see what he wanted her to see. She would work her way to the truth and she usually did, that's why he found it better to always be honest with her. To make sure he never doubted him, because he wanted her trust, and it time, her trust was not enough. He wanted her friendship and then finally, the greed grew until even that was no longer enough.

That was evident in Artemyra.

Sinbad's thoughts slipped away as he came to the front of her door, he was about to knock when he heard voices, _several_ voices. From behind the door it sounded simultaneous, all muffled, however they were in fact brief pauses in-between. Without bothering to knock, he pushed the door open, surprised by the sight in front of him. There gathered around the bed, was none other than Hinahoho, Rurumu, Mystras, Pipirika, Vittel, Mahad, Ja'far-even Serendine and Drakon! Then, sitting up in bed with the covers around her waist, was Sakura; in her lap was a tray with an array of breakfast foods. Sinbad nearly missed the boy sitting next to her, were it not for the red hair. There was Masrur chewing something quietly.

Sinbad slumped slightly, he could understand that none of them were able to really see her yesterday and have a proper conversation, but he didn't see why they couldn't' wait until after she got out of bed, her belly full with the breakfast HE surprised her with.

"You seem so different from that time in Valefor's dungeon!"

Sakura was smiling, chatting to everyone, more specifically-Drakon. Given the ex-Parthevia general's new appearance, it was a surprise to see how casual Sakura was behaving. Drakon had lost his appearance of a human from the last time Sinbad and Sakura had seen him. Apparently it was Sinbad's djinn metal vessel, Baal that had caused it. Drakon had become Sinbad's household vessel without realising it, and when he returned to Parthevia; certain circumstances brought him to surrender to the power of the djinn completely-and he meant _completely_. As a result his body was transformed until he no longer appeared human. His size trumped Hinahoho's, his skin had been replaced by green scales, his hands had claws and his feet-talons, his face was that of a reptiles. In short, he looked just like a dragon. He had come with Serendine, seeking refuge along with two of the princess's handmaids.

Knowing what it was like to be a refugee of your own country, Sinbad welcomed them and in return, they proved to be a great help to the company, especially after his recent predicament.

'Though I don't know what the heck they would have to talk about.' Sinbad thought, frowning. Sakura had only just met Serendine yesterday and the two had somehow talked for hours, one alone on how to poison someone!

"Of course I know that I may look-

Sakura held up her hand, stopping Drakon "I don't mean your appearance, I meant the atmosphere around you; how you're acting now. If this is what your current look does to you then I like you way better like this."

Drakon appeared lost for words, he had received a lot of grief for his current appearance and here this girl was saying she thought he was better as this? He knew there was no vice behind it, but a pure genuine compliment and he couldn't take it any other way.

"Thank you."

Sakura smiled and turned to Serendine, "You were right about him,"

"I told you." Serendine nodded surely.

"Eh?" Drakon looked back and forth between the two pinkettes.

Hinahoho was the first to realise that another had joined them and waved at Sinbad, "Oh look who's finally awake!"

Sinbad frowned walking into the room, "Finally? How long have you all been awake?"

"They showed up about an hour ago." Sakura replied, still smiling to which Sinbad returned it with his own.

"Yeah, and hijacked my breakfast in bed idea." Sinbad said looking down at the tray. Noticing the disappointment in his voice, Sakura held out her hands.

"Masrur eats a lot and we were sharing, this way he doesn't have to restrain himself."

Before Sinbad could open his mouth, it was Masrur who spoke up, surprising everyone-not by speaking but by what he said. "Please don't use me as a cover up for your failed attempt at flirting."

Both Sinbad and Sakura went red as their friends and comrades looked at them, with curious eyes and if nothing else, mischievous smiles on their faces as they began putting the pieces together.

"Now that I think about it…" Ja'far trailed, raising an eyebrow, looking at his leader. "You're hardly ever awake on time _Sinbad_."

Rurumu nodded in agreement, "I do believe that you're ready for the day and an hour ahead."

The violent haired boy gave a crooked grin, he and Sakura literally just established a relationship and it came with conditions.

 _Sinbad was grinning ear to ear as he pulled back, keeping his hands on Sakura's waist. He knew his mind wasn't playing tricks on him when he heard her say she'll stay. That would've just been too cruel, but when he looked at her expression he knew that it was no lie. Her eyes were shining, her lips curved into a tiny smile, this was real-she was real._

" _Sakura…."_

 _Sinbad leaned his head towards hers, to that tiny curved smile. However, just as their noses touched Sinbad felt a pressure on his lips and he was pushed away. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sakura holding her finger on his lips, only removing it once he was an arm's length away._

" _Not so fast there."_

" _Eh, Sakura….you don't want to…_

 _Had he misread her? It wasn't something that usually happened, he was sure that it was the right time to-oh no, was it possible that he had taken things the wrong way? He thought it was obvious with what he had-_

" _Hang on." Sakura said, holding up her hand, "I'm not saying that, however you can consider this payback."_

 _Taken aback, Sinbad tilted his head to the side "Payback for what exactly?"_

 _Crossing her arms, Sinbad swallowed hard when he saw Sakura's eyebrow twitch with clear annoyance; they say there was no such thing as stupid questions but he just asked the wrong one._

" _Well let's recap; you mentioned Artemyra correct?" Sakura's voice had taken a clear seething tone, with a sarcastic smile on her face and furrowed eyebrows._

 _Sinbad backed away, of course she was still going to be mad about that! What girl wouldn't be angry at the person who stole her first kiss?!_

 _Then thinking back to the fact that it was her first kiss, Sinbad accidently grinned, succeeding in only irking Sakura even more._

" _Oh, yes I think I know what event you're referring to, but so much happened over there." Sinbad nodded, crossing his arms as well. "Perhaps you'd care to remind me."_

 _Sakura raised her eyebrow at Sinbad, if he thought that she was going to go along with this game of his, he had another thing coming. "How about what happened right before I left, our little….conversation."_

 _In mock thought, Sinbad tapped his chin, before moving his hand to tap Sakura's lips, tracing the cracks on them. "Mmm, let's see; I don't think I recall. Maybe you could remind me."_

 _Starring at him blankly, Sakura opened her mouth, swiftly catching Sinbad's finger before clamping down hard on it. Sinbad yelped, drawing his hand back to access his throbbing finger to see a small indentation in it._

" _Ouch!" Sinbad hissed, shaking his hand._

" _Still want me to remind you?" Sakura asked, her voice strong with warning._

" _No; I'm good." Sinbad waved._

 _Sighing, Sakura walked around Sinbad, "Look we've literally just established a relationship."_

 _Sinbad nodded, "Yes, so why can't we-_

" _I want to make something clear before that." Sakura said, holding up her hand. "Firstly, I don't want you overdoing it; hand's above the waist and below the chest at all times!"_

" _Eh...do you honestly believe that I would-_

" _Yes." Sakura deadpanned, effectively silencing him. "Secondly, if it's going to me-it can only be me."_

 _Sinbad cringed, he knew that condition was an unspoken rule but he didn't think that she would so blatantly bring it up. Then again given his reputation, it was understandable and he did say he would be committed to her._

" _Got it." Sinbad nodded._

" _And thirdly," Sakura turned and took slow, taunting steps towards Sinbad, who was anxiously waiting for her to finish her list. He looked down at Sakura who was now standing close to him, they were both eye to eye. Smiling, Sakura pushed on the soles of her feet, kissing Sinbad on his cheek. Then, she side stepped and began walking out of the office._

" _Don't try too hard."_

Though they haven't talked about whether or not to publicise their relationship or how to do it, Sinbad didn't want this to be a risk factor and chose to leave that to Sakura. However, with everyone looking between the two, while Sakura and Sinbad stared at each other, they probably didn't need to say anything. Because apparently their friends were sharp.

"Well, it's about time!" Hinahoho exclaimed, his broad arms spread out. "I was beginning to think the two of you were never going to get together!"

Sinbad let out a nervous laugh, "Were we really that obvious?"

Well if they didn't know before, they certainly did now.

"Wait a second…" Mystras raised a shaking finger between the two. "Don't tell me…."

"The two of you…." Serendine trailed

"Are an item." Drakon finished.

Sakura gave a timid nod, she could feel the heat in her face but didn't say anything. She didn't really mind if people knew, but it was another thing when it came to close friends who tended to poke, prod and tease when in situations like this.

Then there was an eruption of noise coming from everyone in the room, all directed at the new couple. Sinbad and Sakura were the only one's speechless as they started chatting about the two. There were the usual, 'no surprise', 'about time', 'I told you so,' and 'Sinbad's days are numbered.'

Sakura and Sinbad looked at each other, with crooked smiles, doing their best to endure the verbal abuse (or what felt like it to them).

Then Ja'far gave an offhanded comment, "So I guess we'll have a queen after all."

"JA'FAR." Sakura and Sinbad cried out, both faces red causing everyone to laugh.

 **Well there you have it; Sinbad and Sakura are officially together now, but this story is not over yet. Life doesn't give a free pass to anyone, not even if it's in another world. I don't like spoilers so that's all I'm going to say for now.**

 **Don't forget to review!**


	28. Balbadd meetings

**HELLO MY WONDERFUL READERS. THANK YOU ALL OF THE REVIEWS AND ALSO FOR THE FAN ART. IT INSPIRES ME TO WRITE.**

 **I know it's taken a while for me to update even though I'm on break, but I have a lot to take care of aside from being a university student.**

 **Also, along with this charper, I bring some news. If any of you happen to be fans of Hunter X Hunter; then feel free to take a look at the first chapter of my crossover that I have just posted and tell me what you think.**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Aw you're so cute!" exclaimed Sakura, starring down at the baby girl in her arms, she had long teal-blue hair in two braids and amber coloured eyes. The traits of most of the Imuchakk people. Sakura recently found out that Rurumu had given birth to two girls. Both resembling their mother quite a bit. Apparently, that was the reason she had not been around when Sinbad had dealt with Madaura, because Sakura was certain if she was here. She would not have allowed Sinbad to take the risk that got him turned into a slave in the first place.

Sindria trading company were currently making last minute preparations before they took off to Ballbadd. Sindria had been preparing to set up base in the country and they were finally ready. In Sakura's opinion, it was a good idea to get out of Reim. Sinbad would be welcomed there, thanks to his association with King Rashid.

Sakura's attention was drawn away from the company affairs, when she felt a strong tug on her top.

"I think she's hungry." Sakura said, tickling the baby's stomach. "And I hate to say it but I'm less than qualified for that job."

"Don't worry," Pipirika assured her, waving her hand. "Rurumu-nee should be finished soon, I'll take all of them to her in a few minutes."

Sakura nodded before lifting the Imuchakk baby into the air, watching her break out into a fit of giggles before bringing her back down. At least she managed to distract her from her hunger for a little while.

"Can you imagine having twins?" Pipirka asked, bouncing the other baby girl on her lap, while watching Kikiriku run around on the carpet the two girls were sitting on. "That's double the work."

Sakura groaned, running her hand through the teal hair, "I can't imagine having one."

Pipirika frowned, she leaned closer to Sakura "When do you plan on having children then?"

Raising her eyebrow, lifting her chin into the air Sakura spoke, "I will _consider_ having children, when my age number doesn't end with 'teen'. That's my philosophy."

"Well you are with Sinbad, so philosophies can change."

Sakura felt her face threaten to grown hot, but she did her best to push back, what was evidently the involuntary action of blushing. Apparently, there was some kind of trial all couples had to endure when they were still green, that included teasing from their friends. Even Sinbad had been caught getting flustered-him of all people. To think the man who charmed multiple women in the day; honestly it was hard for Sakura not to take a crack at him as well-mostly because she was certain he would have a comeback that would send her hiding in her room for the rest of their relationship.

"There is no way anyone will change my mind about something like that, not even Sinbad." Sakura stated, attempting to save herself further grief.

"I can't change your mind about what?"

Sinbad opened the door, just in time to hear Sakura's statement however he wasn't certain of the context. Though when he saw the look on her face, he definitely wanted to find out what turn this conversation took before he walked in.

Pipirika and Sakura glanced at each other, as if pleading an unspoken oath. They did not respond to Sinbad and turned their heads away.

"Fine," Sinbad sighed, surrendering. "Anyway, we'll be heading off soon. Pipirika, Rurumu asked for the kids."

Pipirak stood up, taking the twin girls and Kikiriku before heading towards the door, greeting Sakura and Sinbad. After she left, Sinbad carefully closed the door. With his hands behind back, Sinbad strolled in with an 'innocent' expression on his face.

"So-

"No." Sakura replied, already figuring what Sinbad was going to ask. "I am not telling you what we were talking about, and you cannot convince me to do otherwise."

Sinbad let out, what Sakura could only describe as a whining before he sat down next to her. Sakura narrowed her eyes at Sinbad, his legs were crossed, hands holding his ankles as he rocked side to side.

"Why do you have that look on your face?" Sakura asked, leaning away from him.

Sinbad kept smiling as he rested his head on Sakura's shoulder, "I missed you."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You've seen me every day; I'm in your office with you for hours."

"I missed being with you like this!" Sinbad clarified, nuzzling her shoulder.

Because of all the preparations for their move to Balbadd, Sakura and Sinbad were not able to see much of each other out of a professional setting. They had been working almost none stop, Sakura was really feeling the brunt of things because on top of helping Sinbad, she also dealt with the children who had joined the company.

She apparently wasn't the only one who had nightmares of that night, and she started making medicine to help calm the children down. They apparently slept better like that but Sakura was worried about them becoming dependant on the medicine. She had almost been tempted to take them herself. If it wasn't for workload, she wouldn't have a valid excuse for the bags under her eyes. Only Masrur was really aware that Sakura was having trouble sleeping, and that was because he spent some nights sleeping with her.

As if memory brought about action, Sakura yawned and rubbed her eyes. She felt Sinbad take his head off her shoulder and a gentle pressure on her head.

"Is there something bothering you Sakura?"

"No," she replied and she was grateful that he didn't press her, even though he knew she wasn't telling the truth.

"You ready?" Sinbad asked.

"Yeah," Sakura replied, smiling.

"Then let's go to Balbadd."

* * *

Sakura had been to many cities and many different countries; each with unique features. Sasan had its natural resources and its knights were powerful fighters, Artemyra's women were able to control animals, Imuchakk people's bodies were not only large but they were able to survive in harsh environments and Kou was an expanding force with a powerful monarch that already had a dungeon capturer and a very promising future, but Sakura had never seen a place like Balbadd before. It was a costal nation, made up of hundreds of islands; it was a country that flourished as the centre of sea commerce. It was also about to become Sindria's new base of operation.

Sakura had wanted to stay with Rurumu, Pipirika and Mystras to help with the cargo and to see the company's new building but Sinbad insisted that she come with him, Ja'far and Hinahoho to greet the king. She obviously had not seen him since their first time in Reim and Sakura was somewhat nervous about meeting him again. Apparently, they had used the king as a way to let Madaura's guard down and get her to sign the contract that ruined her. They made her think that Balbadd was going to adopt slavery into its country, with that in mind she was willing to put herself in debt to Sindria, believing that it had been a good investment opportunity. Though underhanded, it was rather genius.

The royal palace had a very unique design, the buildings had cylindrical shaped roofs that fanned out into cubes from the bottom; all the towers were symmetrical, standing side by side perfectly. There was a giant wall surrounding the magnificent structure, all you could see from it were the tall rooftops. The inside was even more impressive, the floors were made of powerful, smoothed out stone. A large red carpet lined with green and gold lead up to a small flight of stairs where the kings throne stood. There was a second floor where guards were able to stand around.

"We're extremely grateful to be granted the favour of your hospitality. I, Sinbad, head of the Sindria Trading Company, have come here today to give you my thanks and to report our accomplishments to you…King Rashid of Balbadd."

Ja'far, Hinahoho and Sakura were crouched down in a lunge position, their hands together and heads bowed, Sinbad was in front of them, also bowing as they greeted king Rashid. Sinbad began by thanking the king for his hospitality, that their move from Napolia to Balbadd had been successful and that they would be opening the next day.

And then he came too what was most important…

"Also, about the incident with the Mariadel Company…..without your assistance, I woldn't be here today."

Sakura could practically feel Ja'far and Hinahoho tense beside her even though they were not touching. The air seemed to grow thick, but then Rashid spoke, his voice calm yet mixed with tenderness and it became lighter than a feather.

"There is no need for such formality. Just treat me the way you always have." Rashid said, though there was no smile in his face, there was glee in his eyes. "Welcome back Sinbad. I'm glad you're back safely."

Sakura felt her shoulder's visibly slump in relief and then Rashid's eyes fell on her. "And I was surprised to see you're here as well Sakura; it's been a while."

"It has." She laughed with a nervous glimmer. She herself had come to admire the king, much like Sinbad. Straightening up, Sakura bowed her head once again. "King Rashid, I would also like to personally thank you for what you have done for Sindria; from the bottom of my heart. I am extremely grateful to you, for protecting both the company and its founder."

Sinbad glanced back at Sakura, their eyes met and they smiled before returning to face Rashid again.

"Again, there is no need for such formality." Rashid said, waving his hand dismissively. "However, the two of you really do live for adventure don't you? When I think to the first time we've met, I would consider you both rash. I'm not sure whether your courage could be call recklessness."

Sinbad scratched his cheek, his mouth turned downward. "I'm sorry; I throw myself into things I want to do whole-heartedly and then it ends up like this…" He then looked back at Sakura again. "But I am fortunate enough to have friends who are willing to put everything on the line for my sake. Although it does make me worry some."

Ja'far then decided to chime in, breaking Sinbad and Sakura's moment of solitude. "I'll say, try putting yourself in the position of those around you."

Flustered, Sinbad began whispering to Ja'far not to say things like that in front of his mentor. However Rashid then spoke that had everyone's attention returning.

"Sinbad…is it still sufficient to call Sakura your friend?"

Though Rashid voiced it as a question, he had an expression that told them he already knew the answer and this was just a way of getting a rise out of the two teenagers. It worked as well, as both were flustered, babbling out of sync with one another. Trying to deny at first and then realising that there were two witnesses in the room that could at any time chime to differ (Ja'far). However, it was even worse when they tried to explain it. Despite Sinbad's impeccable ability to charm and woo women, he had not been in a relationship before and the same went for Sakura. Being in love, did not make you an expert on relationship either.

As babbling wasn't getting them anywhere; both finally managed to reach a question that brought them to a standstill. "How did you know?"

Hinahoho, Ja'far and Rashid gave the two a deadpan expression from all sides, but Sakura and Sinbad were oblivious to the implication.

"I've been around enough to notice the signs." Rashid said with a crooked smile. "Honestly, I'm a bit relieved. The two of you made quite a pair."

The two held back from looking to each other; they were going to get enough teasing when they got back to everyone. Deciding to skilfully draw them away from the topic, Sinbad spoke again.

"This incident has given me something to think about though." Sinbad began, "Becoming a slave, I realised the world is full of unreasonable things besides war. I'm glad I realised that. A lot of people were affected by everything that happened. But now, I have no hesitation about the path I must take."

The whole room had grown quiet as they listened to Sinbad, using his talent to turn heads. Sinbad looked up, his eyes shining with that familiar gleam of determination he often held whenever giving these kinds of speeches.

"I will build a country." He stated clearly, his one fist clenched tight. "Now that I have everything I need…this is the perfect time."

Sakura wanted to mention to Sinbad that he did not in actual fact, have everything he needed. Aside from funds and suitable allies. There was still one fundamental matter at hand. Luckily, Rashid beat her to state the obvious.

"I have no problem with you founding your own country." Rashid said "But, just what are you planning on doing about the land you need to build it?"

Sakura's sweat dropped as she slouched, "And there it is…"

Sinbad seemed at a loss, just as expected. He may have had a strong will, determination, a sharp mind and great leadership skills. However, he also had a habit of delving in so deep into situations that he would miss the base of it.

"Land?"

Sakura didn't hesitate to slap her forehead then.

"Think about it. If you don't have land you can't build a country."

Sinbad seemed to think for a moment, finally considering something he had not thought about throughout his question to create a country.

"Since you're my mentor I don't suppose I could have a small-

"No Sinbad." Sakura quickly interjected, already knowing what he was going to ask but she couldn't bear to hear him actually ask it. If he continued, she was going to have to go over there and gag him. Friend or not they were still in the presence of a highly respected individual. Sakura was never one to undermine authority nor allow someone else to-and she promised herself to make sure that the same principle applied to Sinbad.

"A country's foundation is its land. Both your assets and resources." Rashid explained.

Sakura pulled a face, frowning slightly. "But most land in this world has already been claimed. Most already belong to other countries. The only way to expand is invasion and that typically results in war. For example, Hakutoku Ren unified two neighbouring kingdoms founding the Kou Empire and is continuously expanding by convincing other lands to come under their patronage. Though it does at times result in conflict."

Rashid nodded, "That's right, you seem to know a lot about the Kou Empire Sakura, ever been there?"

The pinkette bit her lip, she and Koumei had sometimes ended up talking about the Kou Empire's founding; she found the history of the country very interesting. Though considering how the rest of her stay there went; she'd rather not bring it into discussion.

"No, I've only heard of it," she quickly recovered,

"Well Sinbad, what Sakura says is correct about claimed land. Although if you found some untouched land somewhere capable of supporting a population. That would be a different story."

Rashid then pointed at Sinbad's metal vessel, "But you have those. Metal vessels. If you use that power that surpasses human knowledge, it wouldn't be difficult for you to destroy a country in a single night. You could also use it to get the land to build a country. However that would be hypocritical of you, when you dream of creating a country that ends conflict. How will you create your own country?"

Sakura quickly interjected, "It is true that with both mine and Sinbad's metal vessels, but you were wrong about one thing king Rashid," the pinkette stopped to take a breath, "We are not the only ones in this world who have obtained metal vessels, our travels to other countries have made that clear. If we resorted to those kinds of measures, there are plenty who would be able to fight back."

Without her consent, Sakura's mind instantly went to Kouen. He may only have one metal vessel by far, but he was looking for more. He was just as ambitious as Sinbad and if she dare say so, just as terrifying. Picturing those two in battle….she shivered.

'Eh they're literally continents apart, what are the odds the two of them will ever face off against each other?' Sakura thought

"As defensive as ever." Rashid said, smiling at Sakura. "I'm not trying to threaten Sinbad. I'm just interested in the answer. However as an apology let me tell you something. South of the Reim Empire is a land known as the 'Dark Continent; it's a place that is considered a savage, untouched land."

Everyone's ears seemed to perk at the mention of untouched land.

"The dark continent." Sinbad repeated, absolutely focused.

"Yes, a vast amount of land that belongs to no country. I cannot guarantee that it's what you're looking for but it's the only untouched land left in the world. It might be worth the look." Rashid explained, he exhaled and opened his eyes to look down on the group. "But don't forget it's not going to be that easy to create a country."

Of course, Sinbad already knew this but it was only through actual experience that he had begun to grasp true contemplation of the difficulty. Sinbad spoke again, it seemed he was ready to voice a question but stopped when he heard muttering coming near them. Everyone else stopped as they also heard the voices.

"Brother stop…."

"Shut up. I can't forgive having such a lowly thief in the palace!"

Sinbad stood up, he silently walked towards one of the many pillars that stood along the wall. The two voices continued, unaware that everyone could hear them. Sinbad drew back the curtain that hung along the pillar.

"Quit your complaining. It's loud. Who are you two?"

Sakura craned her head back, to see two boys running in a circle frantically attempting to get away from Sinbad. One was crying about how he was going to get killed by a 'lowly commoner.'-also known as Sinbad.

Catching them from the back of their clothes, Sinbad pulled them up into the air watching them squirm. Sakura sighed, Sinbad may have been good at charming people and he did well to persuade the slave children. However, handling kids was a completely different matter. He did not know the basic etiquette of handling children.

" _Best of luck when you two of have kids." Gaap said in a deadpan voice._

" _I think she'd have better luck with the guy who didn't return her affections, the one she always talks about." Sitri chimed._

" _Use to talk about." Gaap corrected._

'Okay, you two shut up.' Sakura stood up and went over to Sinbad, before telling him to put the boys down. Sinbad of course decided to protest.

"No, these brats need to learn some manners."

Sakura put her hands on her hips, "Even so, that is not your job. You're not their father."

Taking the two boys, Sakura set them down gently. Getting a closer look at the two. One boy had a rather long face, wavy black hair and a nervous expression on his face. While the other was husky, with a large round head and short black hair. Both were dressed in fine robes, indicating high status, which explained the one boy's tone of arrogance.

"You two…I thought I told you to stay out of here. Hurry up and get out…"

When Sakura looked at King Rashid she noticed that his expression changed to what would be described as; exhausted. He scratched his forehead as one often did to indicate they were getting a headache.

"But why father!? Why did you let a guy like this into the palace!?"

Sinbad gaped at the two boys, "Did he just say father?"

"Then those two are…?" Sakura pointed

"That's right. These are my sons." Rashid said, sounding hesitant.

"I am the first prince of Balbadd, Ahbmad Saluja," the husky boy stated with pride, puffing out his chest.

"I-I am the second prince Sahbmad Saluja,"

Sakura bowed her head, "It's an honour, I apologise for my leader's behaviour."

Ahbmad scoffed, "Well at least one of these lowly commoners know their place."

Sinbad frowned and stepped forward, "That's it-

"Sinbad." Sakura turned back to him, giving a warning glare.

"What did I do?" Sinbad asked, confused. He wasn't the one who just insulted her! He then looked back to Rashid.

"Are they really your sons? They don't look anything like you."

Sakura's jaw dropped, "Sinbad!"

Ahbmad glared at Sinbad, throwing hair punches at him while his brother attempted to calm him down. "You insolent thief! I'm going to have you thrown out of this palace immediately!"

Sinbad smirked, "Oh! Go ahead and try. I'm here on official business with the king as the head of my company. I've done nothing wrong."

Aside from harass the princes of said king, Sakura wanted to comment but she was already feeling too tired to give a response. She watched as the two boys ran off, Ahbmad now threatening to tell his mother about what happened. Ja'far said that it must be the queen, but Sakura wasn't too sure.

"Don't worry," Rashid said sighing. "This happens all the time, although this is quite embarrassing. I don't know if it's because I left their education up to their mother, but they've turned into hooligans. I worry about the day I will have to leave this country in the hands of my sons."

" _I'd be worried too." Gaap said offhandedly_

'Shut up.' Sakura hissed in her mind, though she didn't necessarily disagree with her djinn. She also realised that the king use the term mother and not wife or queen. Their relationship must be based on political terms. And those were the kinds with more complications.

"Nobody's perfect, a perfect country doesn't exist either. You homeland is a good example…"

Sinbad frowned, "Has something happened to Parthevia?"

"It has been a while since you've been there…Parthevia has agreed to sign a cease-fire treaty with Reim."

King Rashid proceeded to tell the group about Parthevia's current situation. Sakura listened closely, there might be something she could take back to Serendine. Perhaps something that would calm her nerves about its condition. Rashid told them that with the previous emperor of Parthevia dead and the princess missing (no one chimed in to mention they were aware of it). There was still the prince (Serendine's younger brother) but he was apparently still a child. King Rashid said that most of the domestic issues have been left to the general of the royal guard.

"There are rumours that he set things in motion himself by initiating a coup…

Sakura had heard that from Serendine, she was certain this was who the king was speaking of. Barbarossa, even though they had not met the man before, it seemed that they were certainly learning a lot about him.

"However, the general immediately put a stop to the war that was draining national resources and have been focusing on creating new policies for the country. Because of this, he has gained the support of the people. Parthevia is also showing economic recover now. Thanks to a single general, Parthevia has changed."

Sakura knew better than to be objective, putting aside personal feelings was a rule of being a ninja. That was how they had formed allies that were once their worst enemies. However, she didn't know about this case.

"I heard that you originally left your country to attain power to save it. If that was where you started. I think it would be a good idea to try thinking about it once more. What you want to do and why you want to build your own country."

* * *

When they left the royal palace, it was clear that Rashid had given them a lot to think about. They had decided to take a look around Balbadd, since they now had the opportunity. Balbadd was beautiful, with many ravines for boats to ride on with the same near equivalency of a road for caravans. It wasn't called a port city for nothing. They were walking along one of these ravines, while attempting to figure out what their next move was going to be.

Sinbad stood quietly, looking out at the edge of the water, deep in thought.

"Sin…" Ja'far called

When he didn't respond, Hinahoho spoke-to no one in particular. "What should we do now?"

"We need to search for land to build a country, but I also want to know the situation in Parthevia."

Sakura turned away from Sinbad, she had given up on getting him to talk a while ago and decided to leave him be for now. Knowing he would break out of that soon enough.

"The king already told us," Sakura stated. "That Parthevia's situation had changed; but I think that we should focus on the main goal here. To create a country and we first need to find a place to do that.

The thought of involving themselves with Parthevia did not sit well with Sakura, Ja'far had been hired by that country's military general to track down Sinbad and eliminate him. Sinbad told her himself, he believed Parthevia was a lost cause. In fact, she wanted to add that Parthevia was not Sindria's concern. However, she wasn't sure it was her place to say that. Then there was also Serendine and Drakon who had come from Parthevia, escaping after the coup.

"I got it! I'm king of the mountain!"

Sakura, Ja'far and Hinahoho turned around and saw a few children, running around on top of the roof of a small house. Looking in the area, Sakura realised that they had somehow ended up near the more rundown part of the city; the slums. The houses here were more or less the same, made of brick and worn out. The poorly kept environment was not the only thing that gave away its living status, but the atmosphere the individuals created. There were people laying outside, leaning against some of these building or lying on the floor.

"I guess places like this still exist, despite Balbadd's flourishing trade." Ja'far said softly.

"Just as King Rashid said, building a country and maintaining it won't be a simple task."

Sakura didn't say anything, instead she returned to Sinbad's side. Resting her hand on his shoulder. "Sinbad…"

The pinkette startled a little when she felt Sinbad take her hand and cover it with his own. Lowering her hand, he turned around to Ja'far and Hinahoho-a content smile on his face.

"I've made up my mind!" he began, Sakura felt the rukh fluttering gently around him. "Parthevia has become a peaceful country, that's what matters. We only knew about what happened from Drakon and Serendine's perspective, but it seems that Barbarossa was not a villain without a plan."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, for some reason she already knew what he was going to say next. "But you don't want us to share this new information with Drakon or Serendine."

He nodded, tightening his grip on Sakura's hand in a pleading manner. "It would only upset them."

She knew he wasn't wrong, this kind of information taken in the wrong context, could lead to some rash actions. That could possibly put Sindria at risk or worse-Sinbad himself. And here Sakura was hoping that she could tell Serendine about this, but when she thought it through; Sinbad was right. She is the princess of Parthevia; the countries change in situations may not matter to her as much as how it was obtained. By her losing her father, her throne, her birth right…

"Yeah, you're right."

"It's good to hear the war's over at least," Sinbad said, his voice then lowered. "Even though there are things I want to change about the world, there will always be countries that won't change. There will always be people who promote injustice."

Sakura then gave Sinbad's hand a reassuring squeeze, to remind him and he continued.

"I said I would start by saving my home country, but I'm not about to stand in the way of my own progress."

Everyone kept quiet, sensing that Sinbad had more to say.

"Besides…" Sinbad's eyes closed, his smile grew larger "A new adventure of the Dark Continent is waiting!"

The atmosphere became lighter, as Sinbad continued to go on excitedly about how they were going to build a country there. Wondering, what this new land would be like.

"Our destination is the Dark continent! Let's go!" Sinbad exclaimed, ready to lead everyone through the streets and back to the company but he stopped when he came to a sudden halt. He looked back at Sakura, who was staring up at the roofs where some of the slums children were still playing.

"Sakura?" Sinbad called.

Removing her hand, Sakura smiled brightly. "You guys go ahead, there's something I want to check out."

"I can come with-

Shaking her head, Sakura gestured forward with her head. "You go on ahead, I won't be too long."

Sinbad seemed like he wanted to protest, but Sakura gave one look to Ja'far and Hinahoho. As if they had deciphered a code, the two got a hold of Sinbad and lead him back; telling him about the preparations they needed to make before they could head to the Dark Continent.

* * *

It was strange, one moment she didn't feel anything and then it appeared. She had heard the fluttering of the rukh, after Sinbad had dimmed down. It was vague, but it was there and strong enough to get her attention. She followed the laughter, until she reached a clearing in the slums with nothing but piles of sand bags that filled the area, creating a hill. There were children running around, in a race. Sakura saw that they were trying to get to the top of the sand heap before the others. A piece of white cloth tied to stick replicating a flag sat on top.

The children were clambering up the makeshift mountain to reach the goal. There was one that was outclassing them all, a boy with dark dreadlocks, sharp yellow eyes; he appeared to be about six. He climbed up the hill, grabbing the flag on top and turned around. Towering over the group of children with a huge grin.

"All hail your new king!"

One of the other children called out, "Gotta hand it to you Cassim; that was awesome!"

"There isn't anyone who can beat me is there?" The boy Cassim gloated.

Right behind him, Sakura saw a worn out green dresser. Most likely thrown away by someone. The draw from the dresser slid open and the flag was suddenly snatched from Cassim's hand. Within the draw, a small boy appeared. A boy who looked to be five; with short blonde hair and hazel colour eyes with a hint of gold.

He grinned, waving the flag around. "You should never let your guard down during battle Cassim." He stood up in the draw, "Know why, because I can dig more tunnels in this mountain that you can begin to count!"

There were murmurs from the other children, however Sakura was fixated on the two that were standing on top. That sensation she felt before, grew. The rukh were fluttering more vigorously, it was different from anything she had seen before. Sakura gasped softly. 'What is this?'

"I win again!"

Cassim frowned at the smaller boy, "Dammit Alibaba, that's cheating!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

It looked like the two boys were about to break out into a fight, over who had actually won their little game. However before that could happen, the flag had vanished from the blonde boys hand. As if by magic.

"Huh?"

"Where'd it go?" asked Cassim, starring at the blonde boy's empty hand.

"I-I don't know!"

There were a few more mutters from the other children at the bottom; a loud whistle had all of the tiny heads turning to the roof of a small house. They saw a figure standing on top, a girl with short pink hair, waving something in her right hand-their flag!

Cassim frowned "Hey that's ours!"

Alibaba nodded, frowning at her as well. "Yeah, give that back!"

"Hey!"

"That's not fair!"

The other children also chimed in and Sakura was looking down at some hostile expressions. All from little kids, the oldest couldn't be older than eight. There were about….twenty or so now looking at her. Boys and girls. And judging from their state of dress, the worn out rags, they were all from the slums. Sakura's heart gave a little tug. The last time she had seen a child in a position like this, she had gotten teary eyed in the middle of the street.

Sakura's eyes fell on the small boy, Alibaba. He seemed to stand out from the crowd of children; his hair was a physical feature that set him apart from the rest of the dark haired children but more than that, Sakura saw the rukh's reaction to the boy, a kind of calling she couldn't understand.

It was something that peeked her interest, but seeing all of the children now. There was something else she wanted to do instead.

Sakura waved the flag around, a playful smirk on her face. "Well how about this. If you can catch me I'll give it back."

Bending her knees slightly, Sakura pushed up and launched herself into the air. The wind blew through her hair, the children's heads moved around; their eyes following her in awe as she landed on the ground in front of the hill.

Spinning on her heel, Sakura looked down at the children, "Well, how about it?"

Cassim was the first to recover from the state of shock, he glared at her. His eyes were so angry. Sakura actually shivered, but her determination did not deter.

Cassim looked like he was about to say something, when Alibaba spoke first. Jumping out of the draw, he started running towards her full speed, his tiny bare feet stumbled down the mountain. His held an excited face.

"You're on!"

Two feet close to Sakura, he reached his hand out for the flag however the pinkette vanished into thin air. Alibaba and the other children gasped all looking around for her again.

"You're gonna have to do better than that." Sakura said in a sing-song voice. Cassim jumped back, turning around to see Sakura now sitting on the dresser. She held up the flag high. A big grin on her face. "Though I must say, I am impressed. You were the first to strike; Alibaba right?"

Seeing a dark flash next to her Sakura spun around on the dresser, her legs straight swinging around; all of her body weight supported on one hand as she jumped off. Cassim came around the dresser to make a grab for the flag. His hands kept darting out towards it, but Sakura always moved it out of reach. He didn't come close to even touching the fabric, but that didn't mean he was willing to give up so easily.

'He's got spirit,' Sakura thought before she took another big jump off the hill near another group of children. She looked at them, holding the flag in front of them.

"Well?"

They also began coming at her, Sakura continued to avoid them as they reached out for the flag. There were four of them; yet none could get close getting it back.

After another minute, Sakura vanished and materialised on the other side of the mountain again. Soon enough, all of the children were coming at her to get the flag, however, they were attacking individually-not as a team.

Sakura kept pace for about five minutes, she notice the children tiring yet they did not stop attacking. There was a thing with children's stubbornness and pride. It was far more resilient than adults. They couldn't understand their own limits; in a way that's what made them reckless. From her experience, it was a child's early experiences that had the most influence on their view on life and how they dealt with it. They were impressionable and that's what she was counting on.

"You're all still attacking alone." Sakura sighed, she continued to evade the children as if the task were as simple as walking down the street. She showed no sign of fatigue, however she did notice the children growing wary every passing minute. She didn't miss their grumbling stomachs either.

Sighing Sakura came to an abrupt halt, she jumped onto another house. Overlooking the children, panting and sweating. It may have all been for a flag that could be easily replaced, however it was their own stubbornness that kept them going. The flag was theirs and they were not willing to give it up without a proper fight.

'Far more admirable than many adults.' Sakura thought.

Tucking the flag on the side of her belt, Sakura clapped her hands twice to get their attention. "This is no good! At this rate you'll never get your flag back."

Craning her neck slightly to the side, Sakura managed to avoid a stone that was aimed at her head. The throw was slow, but nearly dead on. Her eyes fell on Cassim. Standing with his back slouched forward and his one arm dangling in front of him-as if he had just thrown something.

"What the hell is wrong with you people!?" Cassim shouted, "You having fun tormenting kids! Just because you're bigger than us!"

Sakura didn't respond and simply stared at the boy; he had a hateful look in his eyes. Something she had seen in Ja'far before. However this was from another source. There was an obvious past behind this cause. The question wasn't directed just at Sakura; it wasn't a surprise though that children like these would receive grief from adults. They were seen as easy targets. Taking their situations and state of living as a means to define them until they believe it.

'That isn't what I want to do,'

Putting her hands on her hips, Sakura let out a dramatic sigh. "I just wanted to play a game since it's been a while, but you're all so slow….." putting her finger on her chin, Sakura appeared to be in thought. She snapped her fingers, all the children still watching her. "I know how to make you faster!"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"What….

"Wow….

"No way….

"This is….

All of the children stared at the sight before them, their jaws open wide (some had saliva running down their chin.). Sakura had her arms crossed over her chest, but a blank expression on her face. Behind her, a cart meant to be pulled by at least two people or one animal; however she came pulling it in herself till she reached the junk yard the children played in. She had disappeared for half an hour with the flag and came back with a cart, filled to the brim with crates of different fruits, some dry meat, bread and two barrels of water.

"What are you waiting for?" Sakura asked the dazed children, she pointed to the cart.

"C-Can we really eat all of this?" a girl asked.

"You're not going to beat me without energy." Sakura shrugged, then she gave a genuine smile that erased all doubts. "Go right ahead."

They didn't need to be told twice, the children ran towards the cart and started gathering up as much as they could carry. Sakura just stood back and watched the scene unfold. After they removed all the boxes from the crates, the boy Cassim came to the front.

"Alright everyone form a line."

At the beginning Sakura could see three different scenarios occur from her bringing food. One; the children would grab whatever they could get and run off with it. Second; they would stay but fight each other to get as much food as possible. Third (and what was possibly the most unlikely); they would share the food equally.

There was a light feeling in Sakura's chest as she watched the latter occur. The boy Cassim had taken the initiative to dish out all of the food and he had given everything in equal portions-though Sakura had gotten more than enough for all of the children to have seconds. It was only after everyone else was eating, that he helped himself with the same portion as everyone else. He went to sit with Alibaba and a little girl with dreadlock hair and the same yellow eyes as Cassim. It was easy to tell they were siblings.

" _You truly are a kind one my king." Gaap said._

" _It's nice to see you have not changed," Sitri told her. "Although I still think you're a bit sadistic for making them chase you around like that."_

Sakura only smirked in response. 'That's not it Sitri; that's not it at all'

A flash of red caught her eye and Sakura held up her hand to catch the apple that was thrown her way. She turned in the direction it had come from and saw Cassim with his arms extended. When Sakura looked at his eyes, she saw a shift. The hate was gone, they did not hold hostility even though he appeared to be frowning.

"You're going to need energy too," was all he said before returning to his meal.

Sakura took a bite into the apple.

With their stomachs full, Sakura could see the change in all of the children's faces. There was no longer any hostility but the determination remained. This was now a real game.

"Go!" Cassim called.

The children started running; but it wasn't towards Sakura. They started running around her, a circle in constant motion. Sakura's eyes darted around her but she didn't turn around; this was clearly meant to make her dizzy and throw her off balance.

One of the children broke up the formation and went for the flag tucked on the side of Sakura's waist. The pinkette avoided him easily enough, but then another came at her from behind when she was occupied with the other child; she managed to avoid him as well. However; the numbers continuously started to grow and the circle was soon no more. Sakura was being boxed in from all directions.

'So that's why they were whispering amongst themselves.' Sakura thought as she side stepped a child. 'I wonder who came up with this plan.'

"Now!" Cassim called, he was the only one that wasn't a part of the formation. Watching everything from a distance near the hill.

The children suddenly launched forward all at once; Sakura realised that they had closed off any escape gaps. The pinkette jumped into the air, she landed halfway up the hill of sacks and looked at the children.

"Not bad," Sakura said "You almost had me."

Cassim started clambering up the mountain, alone. He rushed to Sakura, reaching out for the flag. Placing her hands behind her back, Sakura manoeuvred ever so slightly out of Cassim's reach. Sakura began to gradually move up the hill, Cassim in pursuit. His eyes never leaving the flag.

Sakura reached the top, standing up straight she looked at Cassim. Who was heavily panting and sweating. "You're trying to win alone against me; that's not going to work." Sakura stated, she hadn't wanted to say it but it seemed that he still didn't understand. "When facing off against someone that's stronger; numbers usually help you."

Cassim didn't respond to her, only he stopped panting and Sakura saw a hint of a smile on his face. She tilted her head to the side. 'What was that for?'

Sakura felt something slide out of her waist, she turned around quickly and saw a smiling blonde boy in a draw, holding a flag.

"I got it!" Alibaba announced.

All of the children cheered and clapped; it took a moment for Sakura to realise what had happened. She looked down at Cassim and realised why he was smiling. She had been so occupied avoiding the other children that she didn't notice the single blonde boy that was missing from the group. Cassim had only meant to lead her up the hill so that Alibaba could come out and snatch the flag when she was occupied.

The pinkette smirked, 'Not bad….'

Cassim ran up the hill, as if he wasn't tired at all and high fived Alibaba. The two boys then gave her sheepish smiles of accomplishment.

"Nice job, did you come up with this plan while you were eating?"

Cassim nodded, he rubbed his nose proudly. "Me and Alibaba came up with the plan and we passed it on."

Placing one hand on top of each boy's head, Sakura smiled affectionately. "You two make a good team. Remember that."

"Hey miss," Alibaba said looking up at Sakura, "Why'd you take our flag?"

Sakura didn't hesitate in answering; "I just wanted to see if you all were determined and would work together."

Cassim frowned again, "But why?"

"You kids are living in a difficult world. You need to stand up for yourself and work together if you want to survive. I didn't know any other way to teach you this lesson than through a game."

She kept it as simple as she could, these were only children after all. There were only two facts that they needed to take from that statement.

Cassim and Alibaba just stared up at her, Sakura reached down and lifted the two up. Cassim struggled a little before he settled and Alibaba just held on tighter. She turned back to the other children.

"Okay, I need everyone to form a line."

* * *

The sun was setting over Balbadd, the sky was lit with a bright orange tinge mixed with purple. Sakura walked through the slums. After an eventful game of 'Capture the flag' Sakura had given each of the children a bag of coins from her dungeon treasure-a weight that they could carry. Knowing that it wouldn't be safe to have them carrying this much around. She took it upon herself to get all of the children to their homes. She smiled every time she heard a child run into their homes and hear their joy-filled voices as they told their parents what had happened in the junk yard. She met with some of the parents who extended their thanks but she didn't stay long since she had to get ALL of the children back.

The only three left was Cassim, his little sister Mariam and Alibaba. Sakura had Mariam propped on top of her shoulders. Alibaba and Cassim holding one of her hands.

"Here it is." Alibaba called pointing to a little space, with bricks covered in fabric. "Mom, I'm home!"

A women came out of the opening, a beautiful women with long black hair and dark eyes, pale skin unmarred.

"Alibaba!" she called happily. Alibaba started pulling Sakura with a bit of force to get to his mother. Sakura now stood in front of the women, who looked at her.

"Oh, is this a new friend Alibaba?"

Alibaba nodded, "Uh huh, this miss Sakura!"

Chuckling Sakura shook her head, "Sakura is just fine."

"Nice to meet you Sakura, I am Anise." The women introduced herself with a kind smile that Sakura couldn't help but return. This might explain why Alibaba stood out to her before; his mother was similar. She didn't give the same reaction of the rukh, but she stood out above the rest of the people in the slums. They were dreary and obviously weary; not that it could be helped. Poverty granted great difficulty.

"I'm sorry for getting him back so late; it's my fault really." Sakura said.

Anise shook her head, "Don't worry about it."

"Mom look!" Alibaba said holding up the bag of coins with a bit of effort.

Anise's eyes widened "Is that-

"It's his reward for winning the game." Sakura interjected, smiling down at Alibaba.

"We all got!" Alibaba said cheerfully, gesturing to the bag Cassim held.

The dark haired boy then let go of Sakura's hand and went in front of Anise, "Um, Aunty Anise, could you…." He held up the bag in front of her and the women's face showed a kind of understanding. She nodded and took the bag from him.

"Don't' worry." Anise said reassuringly.

Sakura was confused, but she had a feeling that this was a personal matter; a boundary she shouldn't cross.

"This is certainly a lot though, are you some kind of noble lady?" asked Anise, it was pure curiosity that laced the question and nothing of hostility.

"Oh no!" Sakura shook her hand around nervously, "I am no lady,"

Stepping forwards Anise grasped Sakura's hand gently, bringing it to her mouth and planting a small kiss on it. "Thank you."

For the first time in a while, Sakura was hit with a familiar wave, a warmth-a true mother's warmth.

* * *

It was dark by now, Cassim had lead Sakura by the hand through the slums. Even in this darkly lit area, the boy seemed to know his way around perfectly. Mariam seemed to be half asleep on Sakura's head. Cassim suddenly stopped, "This is far enough."

Sakura frowned, "I want to get you home safe-

"It's just down this road." Cassim said gesturing in front of him. "I'll take Mariam."

Bringing the little girl off her shoulders; Sakura handed her to Cassim. He held his sister with great care, not usually the kind you got from a six year old. He seemed to have a strong sense of protection for her. Almost as if he was the only one who did.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked; she knew that there was something going on with him. First he handed the money to Alibaba's mother. It didn't seem like an offer. Now he didn't want her to take him home.

'What kind of home does he live in then….' Sakura wondered sadly.

"Thank you for everything." Cassim said about to leave.

"Cassim," Sakura crouched down, she put her hand on his shoulder; her eyes seemed to shine under the moonlight. She appeared ready to give a long speech; but instead she leaned forward. Placing a small kiss on the boy's forehead. She heard a small gasp of surprise.

Sakura pulled away, smiling gently. "Don't ever lose hope."

 **That's all for now; I don't know when the next chapter will be coming but rest assured that I am working on it. Also again; if you happen to be a fan of Hunter X Hunter, then check out my new story.**

 **Don't' forget to review!**


	29. The Dark Continent: Heliohapt

**Hello everyone; it's been too long since my last update and this is one of my prized storied. I hoped you enjoy this chapter-also if you checked out my fan art or haven't, keep an eye out for Katsura369 on deviantart because I might be posting something soon.**

* * *

"You know, I didn't think 'I won't be too long' meant 'I won't be back till later tonight!" Sinbad said, crossing his arms over his chest to look at his pink haired partner; who had literally just come in-through the office window.

"I just lost track of time." Sakura shrugged. "It's not like you haven't done it before."

She looked around Sinbad's new office, it was much larger than the previous one in Napoli. More space to put file the dozens of documents; all neatly pilled in shelves around the office rather than at the back. There were windows situated behind Sinbad's desk so that light could come in. However, Sakura noted that there were actually two desks a little ways beside each other; a red embodied carpet under each desk.

"I figured you might want your own desk," Sinbad said after realising she had been starring at the desks. "Now back on topic; where the heck have you been?"

Trailing her hand along the edge of the desk, Sakura spoke. "I just went to take a closer look at the slums. Ran into some kids and played some games with them."

"I see….."

"Is there a problem?"

Sakura didn't think of going into the details with Sinbad about what drew her to the slums in the first place. She wasn't entirely sure herself until she got there; but she didn't regret it. Listening to the rukh had helped her some, if anything it made her experience in this world more interesting. There were times when she was able to look at a person and assess their character based on the rukh's behaviour around them.

"No; it's just-I wish you would at least tell me you were going to be out this late." Sinbad mumbled.

When she saw the frown on his face, Sakura realised that Sinbad was quite upset, more than he'd care to admit.

Hands on her hips, Sakura leaned forward glaring at Sinbad, "Why are you so upset?"

"I'm not upset,"

"Tell that to your face," Sakura pointed, watching as his eyebrows knitted closely together, a scowl forming.

"Okay, I'm upset." Sinbad grumbled, crossing his arms.

"It's not like I have a curfew or anything right?" Sakura asked sarcastically. "Honestly relax."

"Sorry for worrying."

Now Sakura was confused; with her head titled to the side, she attempted to look at Sinbad's face when he turned his back to her. "Why would you worry about me? You know I'm able to take care of myself."

Sinbad's voice came out sharply, "Yes, I do know that. I also know you can pull an amazing disappearing act when you least expect it."

Sakura's jaw dropped, though you could see in her eyes she was fuming. She could only describe this as a low blow from Sinbad. She thought that this had been settled but it looked like she had assumed wrong. Turning on her heel, she began walking passed Sinbad to the door but her wrist was captured and she was pulled back.

"Wait, wait." Sinbad sighed, rubbing his eyes "I didn't mean-

Sakura cut him off, pulling her hand back "I know what you meant. You think if you take your eyes off of me for more than a few minutes I'll leave."

Walking around so that he was facing her, Sinbad placed his hands on her shoulders "Sakura please,"

"You don't trust me do you?" She knew it; he didn't trust her not to leave him even when she had made it clear she had nowhere else to go. She had nothing left in this world but him and their friends. Everything she is-everything she was; had been left behind in the shards of a shattered mirror.

"I do Sakura." Sinbad said holding tighter, his fingers digging into her shoulders but she didn't flinch. "It's just that-it's hard." She looked up at him, waiting for an explanation, Sinbad took a breath in and then exhaled. "Even though I have you now; it feels like you're trying to keep a distance from me. You seem to be fine with everyone else, but with me….."

In all honesty, Sakura knew what he meant. Although their relationship had changed they were still behaving similar to how they had when they were friends, Sakura hadn't taken any actions to step out of that routine since the confession. It was always Sinbad that took the first initiative; be it talking to her outside of office grounds, offering to go out to dinner and such (which Sakura had been declining by far). She would always be the last one to finish her work and she had hardly given into any of Sinbad's advances; despite that he had kept his word in showing restraint-which was not easy for him. It was no wonder he thought she was being distant.

A part of her also felt guilty. Sinbad had given her this whole heart felt confession and she hadn't even been able to muster up the will to tell him who she really was. There were still so many things she hadn't told him about. She felt that; while he poured his heart out to her; she had kept hers closed to him.

'He could already tell I was hiding something.' Sakura thought. 'But, I don't want to tell him anything now.'

Sinbad had already asked her if something was bothering her and he hadn't brought it up again; but he wanted to know. She was working hard all the time and there was something off about that. She was like this before, but he noticed a change in her. Partly the reason he hadn't tried to bring it up before was because he had a feeling it was related to the incident with Madaura. He had hoped that she would come to terms on her own as he had; since he just seemed the serve the same purpose of a scar-a reminder of a mistake.

The matter of her running away was another anxiety. When had hadn't come back after hours, that same sickening feeling fell over him like a fog, blinding him. He had gone to Ja'far on the matter and he actually reassured Sinbad that Sakura wouldn't run off again. He seemed so sure that Sinbad actually calmed down some; but that was before sunset.

"In the future, please just give me a heads up." Sinbad sighed.

"It's not like I was planning on taking that long," Sakura replied honestly, she placed her hands on Sinbad's who still had his resting on her shoulders. Then she smiled, a light blush on her cheeks; "It is kinda nice though."

"Huh?" Sinbad looked confused.

"To think that you were concerned about me leaving."

Sinbad pulled her close, resting his forehead against hers. "Of course; I meant what I said you know."

Closing her eyes, Sakura's smile grew wider. While she would miss her own world, Sinbad had offered her a chance she never thought she would get again-not after Sasuke.

"Thank you; Sinbad."

A soft pressure swept over her lips for an instant before it vanished again. "It's nothing to thank me for Sakura."

Leaning up, Sakura brought her face back to his; as she kissed him, her hand trailed up his neck to his hair, caressing it. Sinbad's grip tightened; she didn't make it easy for him to restrain. Their lips were warm against each other.

'Stay with me self-control' he silently begged, not wanting this moment to end because of something he would inevitably do.

Sakura sighed softly when Sinbad drew his head back, his mouth moved to the corner of her lips and downwards to her chin…

There were still many barriers that they needed to overcome in their relationship. Sakura was more hesitant to take them on; but Sinbad was determined to get them through. One at a time. Sakura just hoped that when they were all stripped down; that his feelings for her would not deter.

"Ouch!" Sakura yelped, pushing back and covering the side of her neck "Sinbad, did you just bite me!?"

* * *

South of the Reim Empire; 'The Dark Continent', is described as a savage, untouched land with only a few colonies like Reim's city of Carthargo. The area was lawless and therefore a cesspool of bandits that targeted travellers. At least that's what Sinbad and his companions were warned when they took to leave Carthargo. The guards at the stone wall exit, attempted to sway them back, considering how young they were; however the appearance of Hinahoho and Drakon quickly silenced them before proceeding into the Dark Continent.

"AMAZING! WHAT A DESERT!" Sinbad looked out at the seemingly endless land filled with sand dunes and a few well parted palm trees. "Sakura are you seeing this?!"

"Yes, Sinbad." Glowered the pink haired girl, she was wrapped in a lightly coloured cloak as protection from the heat but she was still getting hot. Removing her hood and adjusting the bag around her waist; she turned her head to look around but unlike her partner her eyes were brimmed with caution.

"What's wrong?" Sinbad asked

Closing her eyes for a moment, she spoke, "I haven't had the best experiences in deserts by far."

"The Dark Continent has a great climate difference between the North and Southern region." Ja'far spoke, rolling out a map of the uncharted area. "As you travel to the Southern region, it seems like the climate becomes more tropical and it has various vegetation. The part that's generally considered untouched is the Southern region."

"AND LAND AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE." Sinbad cried out excitedly, his eyes darting around with a child-like glimmer. Ja'far continued to explain theirs aims to travel south while Sinbad was talking over him, until he finally yelled for their leader to pay attention to detail.

"It's not the heat that bothers me," Sakura deadpanned in her reply, glancing to the side, a small red headed boy stood beside her; on his back-a bag with a far larger range in width and weight, yet it did not deter him as he stood up straight, clutching the straps in both of his hands. "We were warned of bandits"

And she knew that slave traders were no strangers to these lands either; fighting wasn't what bothered her. It was worrying.

When Sinbad had announced his plans to explore the untouched lands of the Dark Continent; he insisted that he would only be taking those capable of defending themselves. Naturally, that was Hinahoho, Ja'far, Mystras and Drakon; however Masrur stated that he would be joining the group as well. It wasn't too surprising; making his intentions of visiting the birth place of the Fanalis clear.

"It'll be alright." Masrur said, looking at Sakura and although his face was unchanging she smiled at him nodding.

Hinahoho, crossed his large arms, his head covered almost completely by the large wrapping that could double as a blanket-an Imuchakk did not take well to heat. "Masrur's birthplace huh…it'd be great if he could find his family or friends."

"Yeah it would." Sinbad replied.

Ja'far continued to look at the map, "Sin, about that…along with the Fanalis there is another culture that exists here on the Dark Continent. It's known as Heliohapt. A country ruled by a royal family for hundreds of years. There are rumours that its power surpasses both Sasan and Artemyra."

Sakura kept a smile, looking at Ja'far, "I see you've kept up with your studies; good job Ja'far."

Ja'far blushed under the desert sun, although it wasn't the heat getting him. "Well anyway, that has nothing to do with us. We're heading for the Southern Region after all-

"Let's go check it out!" Sinbad exclaimed,

"What?" asked Ja'far, disbelief painted across his face.

"That country, let's go-

"No." Sakura stated firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sinbad visibly deflated, slumping forward, his tone resembling a whining dog. "Why not?"

With a hard glare, Sakura stomped up to Sinbad, pointing at his chest "Given the fact you've got a record for causing trouble in every country you enter for the first time; I don't think a detour is a good idea."

"Aw, come on sweet-

"NO"

Drakon leaned over towards Hinahoho, he spoke in a whispered tone so Sakura and Sinbad would be oblivious to conversation. "Is it true, does Sinbad really cause that much problems? I thought it was just in Parthevia."

Ja'far, Hinahoho and Mystras started recapping from Imuchakk, to Reim, Sasan, Artemyra…

"Yes." They deadpanned.

"Especially when it comes to the women of those countries…." Ja'far trailed.

"I think Sakura's aware of that." Mystras pointed.

Mystras, Hinahoho, Ja'far, Drakon and Masrur resumed to watching the two teens bicker over their travel plans. With the look on Sakura's face, no one wanted to jump in; for fear of dealing with the girl's wrath.

With his hands raised, Sinbad gave a nervous smile as he spoke. "Think about it, if there are people who live here, they must know a lot about the land surrounding them. They would be a good reference for helping us build our own country. Do you really think we should pass up this opportunity…"

"It's basically in the opposite direction from where the Fanalis live in the Southern Region." Sakura pointed out, poking Sinbad's chest. "This trip isn't just for you."

Ja'far then decided to chime in, figuring it was safe, "She's right Sin, what will Masrur think about-

"I'll go." Masrur interjected, his mouth hidden behind his scarf.

Seeing an opening of security, Sinbad crouched down beside Masrur, hands on the boy's shoulders "See, he says he'll go!"

"That's not the point!" exclaimed Ja'far, he also didn't want to take an unnecessary detour. "And Masrur, you shouldn't' agree with Sin so easily!"

"That's right," Sakura nodded leaning over the boy, "We didn't plan for this and it's not like its fair on you either."

Sinbad started whispering to Masrur, covering his mouth with his hand in case the two decided to read his lips; meanwhile Masrur spoke in a mechanical manner his next words.

" _It's okay….this is my decision."_

"See, he said so!" exclaimed Sinbad in a coy manner; doing his best not to cringe at the daggers Ja'far and Sakura were glaring at him.

Sakura threw her hands in the air, "Only because you were whispering in his ear like some evil entity!"

"That's right, don't use a child as your excuse for doing something!" Ja'far yelled.

Attempting to divert the tension and the already heated atmosphere, Mystras decided to chime in. "Hey Masrur, aren't you taller than before?"

Everyone turned to the eight year old Fanalis; Sinbad started petting his head speaking about how Masrur must be having a growth spurt, with Hinahoho commenting that it was normal while Drakon thought otherwise and Masrur saying he had been eating more than usual since arriving at Sindria. Meanwhile Sakura noted the frustrating vibes of a certain ex-assassin with white hair.

Ja'far looked up, when he felt a comforting hand on his head; Sakura smiled down at him which he returned; however it vanished; his eyes narrowed as he turned around to look on top of a sand dune. Sakura and the rest followed his glare, standing on top were several men; some riding on camels. By the looks on their faces and the blades in their hands; it was rather obvious they were a threat.

"Heh, you're crossing the desert with those kids?"

"Why don't you hand over your belongings before someone gets hurt?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "Those must be the bandits we were warned about."

"Yeah," Sinbad crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. They outnumbered the group five to one; even so no one showed any signs of concern.

Then one of the bandits said something that set everyone off; his eyes lingering on Sakura; leering at her. "HEY THERE'S A GIRL WITH THEM."

That caught the bandit's attention, "Oh I see her!"

"Yeah, not bad!"

"You kids sure brought us a nice present!"

"How considerate!"

Sakura's sweat dropped when she looked around at the sinister aura growing around her from all sides; all coming from her six male companions. They were probably going to take it easy on the men standing above but not anymore.

Clearing his throat, Sinbad glanced at Sakura, "Sakura darling, would you stand back a little please?"

Usually Sakura would have protested against Sinbad wanting to keep her out of a fight; not to mention correct him on all of his unnecessary terms of endearment for her but instead she took several steps back from the group, her face blank.

" _What are you doing?" asked Gaap "Aren't you going to fight?"_

'Did you see their faces?' she asked, crossing her arms.

" _Those bandits-_

'No, not them.' Sakura said to Sitri, 'Just wait for it.'

* * *

Ja'far was the first one to launch an assault; throwing his arms out and trapping four of the bandits with his wires before attacking; then Mystras jumped in along with Hinahoho; Drakon-who only had to lift his hood back to scare most of the bandits into submission and Masrur barely touched the men to send them flying. She had guessed that Sinbad would've stayed out of the battle completely but clearly his nerves had been shot; he didn't go full djinn equip; but he didn't take it easy either. Within no more than three minutes the bandits bodies were lying in the hot sand; unconscious or barely.

Sinbad had a satisfied grin on his face as he dusted off his hands; coming up to Sakura to throw his arm over her shoulders. "Well let's get going, shall we?"

" _Wow" Sitri replied_

'I almost feel sorry for them.'

"I don't usually say this, but I think you guys were a little overkill." Sakura said after they were a good distance away from the bandits and further into the desert.

"It was not; overkill would've killed them." Ja'far corrected.

"Will you move your arm; it's hot enough without you smothering me," Sakura said ducking under Sinbad's arm and shoving him to the side; which she had done three times already but he was persistent with keeping her within his reaching distance.

"Nope." Sinbad said, returning to her side to throw his arm over her shoulders again.

Sakura felt a vein on her forehead throb; "Ja'far."

"Right," the young boy wrapped threw his arms out, his wires wrapping around his leader's arms, effectively restraining him.

"Hey-Ja'far let me go!" Sinbad struggled against the binds; but Ja'far just kept tugging on Sinbad like a dog on a leash.

"Do not let him near me until we get to Heliohapt." Sakura ordered,

"Right," Ja'far nodded, tightening his grip on the strings.

Sinbad's eyes lit up, as he stared at Sakura's back. "We're going!"

"Yes," Sakura said, none too pleased glaring back at Sinbad, "And you had better keep your distance from me until then."

Drakon, Hinahoho, Mystras and Masrur watched the scene unfold; making a mental note to never deliberately annoy the pinkette.

* * *

Five days and four nights spent travelling through the desert; they would stop at night to camp and eat but not for long since the desert grew cooler at dawn. There were a few oasis around; more than expected so they were hardly ever short on water. Although Sakura in all honesty had enough of seeing nothing but sand.

"I SEE IT" Sinbad called, pointing forward.

Everyone looked at the almost silhouette structure standing in the distance, a little ways across the desert and pass a few oasis's; they were able to see quite a bit of its features even from the distance they were at. As they drew closer; they were able to make out more distinct features of the structure they had seen along with its landscape. A sparkling river, surrounding the land and giving way to vegetation. Man-made buildings shaped in pyramids; one that towered over the rest, in the centre of the ring, like a grand prize. Marked with a sloped eye that seemed to overlook everything.

* * *

"This is Heliohapt." Sinbad breathed as they entered through the threshold of the country.

They immediately came into a busy area; people wearing little fabric of cloth walking around them, paying little notice. Sinbad and the rest of the group came to marvel at enormous steps that lead up one of the pyramid structures.

"I wonder how they built this…" Ja'far trailed, still awe struck.

Sakura narrowed her eyes; although there didn't seem to be anyone taking note of them in particular. She couldn't shake the feeling that-they were already being watched. Was she getting paranoid because they were in a new land?

'Maybe,' she thought turning back. Then she saw Mystras; fluttering about and muttering something to himself, his hands covering his vision. Sinbad noted this as well.

"What's the matter Mystras?"

"We-We have trouble Sinbad," he spluttered, he pointed "The-The women here are even more exposed than they were in Artemyra!"

Glancing in Mystras's direction; there were indeed women, their dresses were made of a soft cloth-though hardly enough to cover from the waist up, exposing _everything_. Sinbad and Mystras's faces grew hot as Mystras asked Sinbad where he was expected to look when they were showing that much skin?

"It's okay." Sinbad assured him, "It must be part of the culture of this country. If that's the case there's no reason to be secretive about it. We should be as bold as we want."

"What do you mean?" Mystras asked

Before he could clarify to Mystras that they should be allowed to 'ogle' whatever they want, Sinbad felt a shiver run down his spine. With a slow and fearful look behind him. Sakura stood watching them, her arms at her side. Sinbad swallowed heavily; now he was sure to get one of her famous punches. Instead though; the pinkette just sighed shaking her head before turning to occupy her sights.

Sinbad was shocked by her response; not a single hit or word of anger?

"Eh, Sakura…." he reached his hand out towards Sakura, who kept her back turned to him but then he felt yet another dangerous presence and it was seething-Ja'far.

"You two listen here…." He trembled; "Did you forget what happened the last time you behaved this way? ESPEICALLY YOU SINBAD. IN SASAN AND ARTEMYRA. I DON'T WANT TO GET IN TROUBLE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY."

As if a beacon had been lit, they were noticed, hearing someone ask about the noise. Three people came forward; they all had hair as white as snow in contrast with their tan skin.

"These people, aren't from our country."

Sakura immediately went to join the group again; realising she may have to apologise for the males causing another uproar. However the three figures; two men and one women; placed their hand across their chest looking at them with warm smiles.

"Welcome! Welcome travellers to the Mysterious country of Heliohapt!" exclaimed the male in the middle; he was slim, with eyes shimmering in excitement. On either side of him; was another man but he was far more built though still held a kind expression and next to him was a women; her upper torso was covered as opposed to the other women they had seen by far; her eyes were big and gave an innocent appearance.

No one responded, not because they meant to be rude but because they were still surprised. This would be the first welcoming they received in a country where there weren't any trials or conditions of hostility and wariness.

"It must've been hard crossing the desert. If you'd like; we can escort you to an Inn." Another factor that had been absent in most of the other countries they had visited.

"Huh?" was all that Sinbad could manage in his state.

"Of if you'd like we can give you a tour of our popular sightseeing spots."

"That'd be great-

Ja'far then intervened, holding up his hand, his face showing suspicion, "I'm sorry we can't possibly ask that of someone we just met. If you have any reasons for wanting to help us we'd appreciate it if you told us now."

"Ja'far," It was understandable why Ja'far was behaving this way, but given she felt no immediate sense of danger or hostility coming from these people (as the rukh would've helped make it clear). Sakura stepped forward, returning the warm smiles with one of her own "Forgive my companions. Due to past experiences we tend to be wary when entering new lands. Although I hope it won't seem rude for us to incline a bit of an introduction of sorts."

Seeming to realise the pinkettes insinuation, the boy bashfully rubbed the back his neck. "Sorry, we haven't explained ourselves very well. Our country Heliohapt, because it is surrounded by the desert, has been secluded from the world. However according to the new policy of our current king, we are going to actively seek out contact with other countries."

"I see," Sakura said nodding her head in understanding, "I suppose that one of those activities includes welcoming tourists?"

"Yes, the younger generation take on the role of acting as the mediators between our countries and others." He said bashfully. The three then bowed their heads in apology for not explaining themselves earlier.

Sinbad then stepped up to speak, "Well, Ja'far it would be rude to refuse their invitation to show us around now right?"

Ja'far didn't say anything, though Sakura gave him a playful poke on his cheek making him blush. Sinbad was already shaking their tourists hand as he told them to take care of their group. When Sinbad was out of an earshot, Sakura whispered to Ja'far.

"Don't worry; I noticed too," she muffled her voice behind the fabric of her cloak as he looked at her, "It can't be a coincidence if we both feel it."

Ja'far's eyes shifted to the side, 'That feeling-

'Like we're being watched.'

* * *

Because they were unsure if they were being watched out of curiosity or purposes of surveillance; Sakura and Ja'far said nothing to the rest of the group about it. They resumed in their tour of Heliohapt by their three guides. The sights that were included in their tour, was of a statue; the idol that protected Heliohapt, it had the appearance of a large cat, painted with stripes and brightly standing far taller than a house. Another was a gate-like structure called The Gate of Happiness, however the most impressive structure and from what they were told was Heliohapt's most famous architectural achievement; the Royal palace that stood right in the centre of the country. It was then Sakura realised it was mostly this building they had seen from the distance. So magnificent it was-with its unique design it was certainly the more artistic in terms of palaces. Throughout, Sinbad and Mystras were filled with 'ooohs and 'aaaaaas'.

'Some things really don't change,' Sakura thought, still keeping her distance from Sinbad. She found that at times, silence was the greatest weapon to use against men. For the unknown could be terrifying. Sinbad had attempted to get her attention during their tour, however she kept her attention diverted, behaving as if she could not hear him.

They were then taken to explore the market place, the stands all resembled that of a bazaar; although the items were a completely different matter. Almost non they were able to place and categorize. From the clothing, to the novelties to the food.

"WOAH, WHAT'S THAT?" Mystras shouted dragging Sinbad to one of the stands; as if it was already painfully obvious they were strangers to this country, the young Sasan knight had to advertise further. Although, he had wished to see the world so his excitement was understandable-which was why Sakura didn't reprimand him for his behaviour, despite that it resembled a child.

"This is quite impressive," Sakura said to the guides who beamed at her appraisal.

The female guide directed her to a stand, a single fabrics woven in various styles and design, different dresses and accessories mainly of gold and blue. "Would you like to take a look? Perhaps try on a few outfits?"

"Mmm?" Sakura asked taking a small step back; nervous. She could not possibly be expected to wear something that-that-

Then she heard Sinbad's over ecstatic voice chiding in, "Go on; get her anything you think would look good on her! I'll pay!"

Sakura shot Sinbad the foulest expression she could muster, "Thanks for the offer but I'm afraid I have to decline. Another time perhaps...when I don't feel a danger to my chastity." She whispered the last few words to herself so they went unheard.

Pulling a disappointed expression, Sinbad walked over to the pinkette. He walked with a slight slouch. "Are you still mad at me?"

Sakura went silent, the expression wiped off her face in an instant before she moved away from him, pointing to another store. "What's that over there?"

"Sakura!" Sinbad cried out, hand trembling as he reached out to her in vein as she walked away.

Drakon discretely leaned towards his companions, whispering about the scene in front of him. "Is this a lover's spat?"

"No," Ja'far deadpanned, "They've always been like this."

Sinbad continued to trail after Sakura, while she continued to keep her back to him seemingly distracted by the many new and different merchandise in the stores. She stopped when she felt Sinbad throw his arms around her from behind, hugging her close.

"Sakura, blossom…" Sinbad drawled, nuzzling the back of her neck, feeling a bit of perspiration from the heat. The pinkette stiffened under his touch, feeling his fingers dance across her bare stomach to the small bumps of her waist.

"Sinbad, we're in public!" Sakura hissed softly, prying his hands off of her; but she let them go when she felt a patch of skin at the back of her neck contract in a moist clasp before being pulled sending a jolt through her and Sinbad's hands resumed their position. "Hey-

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Huh?"

Sinbad's fingers started to sink a little more into the pinkette's flesh, "I asked if you're still mad, cause if you are; I'm gonna have to work really hard to make you forget and I won't stop till then."

Grinding her teeth, Sakura quickly removed herself from Sinbad's grasp. Spinning on her heel; face red, holding her hands up in a defensive position in case he tried to get close to her again. "Do that again and I swear I'll-

"No matter how many times you threaten to hit me or if you push me away; I'm not going to stop until I'm forgiven and allowed to be near you again. You know I'm persistent." Sinbad strolled over to her, his hand on his hip and a grin on his face as if he wasn't afraid of the retribution he knew the girl was quite capable of handing out. "Well?"

She narrowed her eyes, "In other words; you're going to sexual harass me into submission?"

Sinbad put a finger on his chin, winking at her, "I suppose; but I wouldn't put it like that. You are mine after all, aren't you? Or would you like a recollection of what happened in Ballbadd?"

Sakura felt her face grown hot again as she attempted to maintain her threatening scowl; he had certainly become bold since the incident back at the company before they departed for the Dark Continent. Perhaps she shouldn't have let herself be swept away like that; by doing so, she had taken their relationship to new bounds and Sinbad was going to use it to his advantage whenever he saw chance. And she couldn't withdraw this new liberty from Sinbad because she would be the one coming off as a hypocrite. He must know that as well.

'Damn, this sneaky guy.'

" _It's kinda your fault for ignoring him in the first place," pointed Sitri_

'Shut it.'

"Okay fine, I forgive you." Sakura sighed in defeat, unable to look Sinbad in his eyes knowing he probably had a very triumphant look on his face. It's not like she was hurt because he had forgotten about her practically right after he saw those other women; when he vowed to 'stay committed' to her. Even though she knew he didn't mean it; she wanted to teach him a lesson.

A finger dipped under her chin and she was forced to look up, but when she saw Sinbad's face, all she saw was relief washed over it.

"I'm sorry," he said honestly, his voice grew soft. "But I told you before remember?"

Sakura felt her heart jump to a quick beat, she was about to say something in turn when a short 'ahem' caught her attention; seeing Ja'far, Masrur, Hinahoho, Drakon and Mystras along with the three guides; she realised then that they were still in public.

"Yeah, yeah okay-let's just go." Sakura said before grabbing Sinbad's wrist and pulling him along with the rest of the group trailing behind.

* * *

Sakura stopped at one particular store that caught her attention, there was a strong smell, it was similar to wet grass but had a tinge that was strong and stung your nose. Mystras came up next to Sinbad and Sakura to investigate as well. Sinbad and Mystras picked up a particularly odd item, a plant that appeared to have the shape of a turnip sprout, with roots split in two at the bottom making it look like it had legs; wavy hairs a little ways up to look like arms and it also had faces on it.

"What are those?" Sakura asked the merchant, brushing a stand of her hair behind her ear only to feel it fall back out due to its length.

"Those are called Mandrulu, it's a plant that only grows in this area. If you boil it alive, it becomes a medicine that worlds well for headaches."

Looking passed the 'boil it alive' points, Sakura's inner medic came into play as she questioned the man on the many items in his store. Apparently; many of them had medicinal properties. There was the flower that looked like Lilly's, only the petals were striped; it was called Toliri Helmet and had a nectar that was good for your eyes. Then there was the 'Cypress Faces' and many others.

"That's amazing, I've never heard of any of these before." Ja'far said.

"Because Heliohapt is on the edge of the Dark Continent, we have many plants and animals that don't exist in other countries. And cultivating our knowledge and techniques for preparing these plants. The people of Heliohapt have been studying them since ancient times, our medicines work extremely well and people come here from all over the world to request them." Their guide then handed Sinbad and Mystras a piece of paper that with several ball-shaped objects that had been rolled into bite-size. He said that these were meant to help recover from exhaustion and fatigue. They reminded Sakura of the ninja food pills.

After Sinbad and Mystras took one, their faces shone in amazement. "It's like my exhaustion vanished in an instant!" exclaimed Sinbad, "Sakura you've got to try this!"

Sakura held up her hand to push Sinbad back a little, "I'd like to first know what's in there."

Their guide smiled, "Oh; that was made from the urine of the Maurenia baboon, combined with mandrulu that has been pickled for a hundred days, it's one of our best medicines-huh are you two alright?"

Sakura couldn't choke back her laughter as she watched Sinbad and Mystras keel over and expel the medicine along with their recent meals onto the ground. She handed both of them water containers to wash the taste of their mouths, then attentively began to rub their backs as they finished dry-heaving.

"The medicines are really amazing," Sakura said, distracting the tour guide from the scene. "If we started trading these, we'd be able to further expand our market."

Ja'far went over to the stand to inspect some of the items with Masrur, "It's true that all of these things are unusual and on top of that they've all been perfected throughout the years of refined techniques and research."

Sinbad shot up, rushing over to their tour guide, he grasped the boy's hands and began questioning him with an excited gleam, "How much are these medicines? How much do you have in stock? Can you produce them in mass quantities? Do you trade them!?"

"Sinbad!" Sakura quickly grabbed the back of his clothes and pulled him away, she looked back at their tour guide. "I'm sorry about that; you see we're merchants who somewhat specialise in trading with foreign countries as well as forming alliances with them-especially those that are still an enigma to most of the world. Where would we need to go in Heliohapt to discuss diplomatic procedures?"

The guide smiled, making sense of Sinbad's questions through his partner's explanation. "Well for that, you should try visiting the palace."

Sinbad immediately went to pulling Sakura in that direction before she was able to give a proper thanks and before Ja'far was able to point out that they hadn't come here on diplomatic business but Sinbad was far too engrossed in the opportunity to align his company with yet another foreign country.

"Here we go again." Sakura muttered to herself; although she was smiling under Sinbad's arm.

She had completely forgotten however that feeling of being watched….

 **That's all for now everyone; university is filling my hands with essay after essay and I don't have a lot of time to read and write the way I use to. Don't worry though, the next chapter for this story will appear eventually.**

 **In the meant time REVIEW PLEASE.**


	30. Heliohapt: brothers conflict

**Greetings to all, I am on a short break for this week but I still have a lot to do so I can't say that updates will be coming in very fast. Thankfully, I finally managed to finish this chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Heliohapt's Royal Palace was an architectural masterpiece; looking over the entire country from the centre of it all, the sturdy structure looked like it could survive natural calamities like no other palace in existence. It made you curious about the inside as well; Sinbad and his companions were no acceptation to that temptation. When they reached the front entrance of one of the pyramids, they were greeted by three people; their attired differed slightly from the other inhabitants of Heliohapt. These people were far more….decorated, with the slightest alterations to their clothing.

A tall, lean man, with the same white hair as they have seen on most people of Heliohapt, wearing a golden head piece carved with a cobra. Sakura figured then that this country must be fond of its snakes, because she saw one wrapped around the man's wrist like an accessory. She had never been fond of the creatures and with plenty of reason.

"I am the King's Consul, Narmes," he said, the ends of his lips barely curved up. There was a women behind him, she held her forearm up across her chest as the other two men were in greetings. Then there was a larger man; his face was covered by a mask that resembled an eagle. It was only Narmes addressing them at the moment. "Currently, our country is proactively seeking contact with the outside world. It seems that the king will meet with you personally."

"Not bad, this might be the first time we don't offend someone when we meet them." Sakura whispered to Ja'far while they were lead further into the palace.

"I wouldn't hold your breath." Ja'far said back, smiling slightly, "We're with Sin after all."

Sinbad glared back at the two, pouting, "I can hear you, you know."

"We know." They deadpanned.

* * *

The throne room in the palace was yet another architectural sight to marvel at; there was as staircase that lined up to a platform, overlooking the entire room. On top, sat a man on a throne. He had short white hair, with a golden headpiece, there were marks painted from his eyes down his cheeks, his attire resembled the other people of Heliohapt, only it was decorated and lined with jewels, giving key to his social standing, there was an large snake-longer than Sakura, that had its thick coil wrapped around the king's bicep, his eyes remained closed as he addressed the group that kneeled before him in respect. "Welcome to my country, Heliohapt, I welcome you as guests from a foreign land." The king paused, "….But what an interesting group you are. Imuchakk, and someone from Sasan. You're no ordinary travellers. Who are you?"

Sinbad did not hesitate in answering, he spoke with a respectful, firm tone. He explained who he was, of Sindria trading company, being a merchant formerly of Reim but was now based in Balbadd. He told the king of his allies in Imuchakk, Sasan and Artemyra. "Your majesty, Heliohapt is a superb country. You have advanced construction technology, a wealth of resources and excellent techniques for creating quality pharmaceuticals." Sinbad said, holding out his hand, "Your majesty currently has an interest in foreign countries. Please allow us to tell the outside world about Heliohapt. Couldn't you let us serve as your bridge to the rest of the world? I'm sure that we can become a great source of power for both you and Heliohapt your majesty."

Then, that smooth atmosphere that they had when Sinbad and his group arrived in Heliohapt dissipated, by a single, gruff voice. "Please wait, young king. There's no need for you to waste time meeting personally with such a questionable bunch of visitors."

Turning their necks to the side, Sakura, Sinbad, Ja'far, Masrur, Mystras and Hinahoho all became aware of the appearance of three newcomers to the throne room.

There was a women and two men; one of them was wearing a mask resembling a dog. They were all wearing similar attire to the other people the group had seen in the palace, dressed in gold and they had snakes wrapped around their arms like accessories. What Sakura noticed was that they all appeared to be older than the people they met before; about in their thirties or so.

"I'm Heliohapt's grad vizier, Gafra Ka." Then he gestured to the bulky man in the mask, "This is Priest Anubis," then he waved his hand at the women, "This is the queen Dowager, Lady Patra. Wife of the late king."

There was an auspicious feeling in the air around the three; a tension formed in the room as Narme's was addressed by the vizier Gafra. "Honestly, Consul Narmes. You're quite the disappointment, letting the young king meet with foreign travellers at a time like this…You're not fit to be consul."

'I have a bad feeling,' Sakura thought, craning her head to the side to get a better look at them.

"Don't you understand what's going on?" asked the queen Patra, her arms folded as she stood with a smirk of arrogance. "Ever since the death of the former king, and the enthronement of prince Armakan, this country has seen nothing but bad luck…"

The Sindria traders all listened in as the Heliohapt's conversed before them.

"You are aware aren't you?" repeated the queen, "The increase in sudden deaths, healthy young people have started dropping dead for no known reason. We're using all of our resources to investigate the phenomenon but…do you know what they are calling it in the city?"

Everyone remained silent, as not to break the dramatic pause.

"A 'curse'."

Sakura's shoulders' grew stiff, past experiences have not left her very fond of the word 'curse'; what it meant or symbolised in any way. Sinbad placed a hand on her shoulder and she instantly went lax. They kept quiet as a matter that should've been private in their opinion was spoken opening in front of them.

"Our former king strove to keep Heliohapt independent from foreign influences. Despite that, our current king has chosen to ignore the will of the former king and has decided to let outsiders like these into our country. That's something unforgivable." Patra said, "I'm sure these actions must have invoked the rage of our great former king."

All Sakura could see was Narmes's rage being invoked, as he reminded the three that they were speaking in front of the king right now-who didn't say a word, he didn't give any reaction to the clear disrespect of these people. The vizier gave an empty apology in turn and said that he hoped the curse would not affect their king; but the tone in which these words were laced were insincere and almost sarcastic.

* * *

Due to the interruption, Sinbad and his group were not able to complete negotiations as Narmes pardoned the king and suggested that they leave this for another day and even offered to pay for their lodging. Thus they were lead out of the palace with no dispute from anyone. It became clear that Heliohapt was not as 'stable' as they had first assumed it to be. They were met with their guides and on their way to the inn they were given a brief of the county's current predicament.

"The previous king of Heliohapt had passed away and Lord Armakan succeeded the throne." Their guide said in a solemn voice, "Our king wasn't interested in foreign policy and cut the country off from outside influence. However, due to the fact that we were lagging behind the rest of the world's changes and advancements, our current king has changed that policy. We of the younger generations support that policy but the older generation…."

Their heads turned in the direction their guide's eyes fell in the city, there were some elderly people standing near some boxes at a building. Their eyes were fixated on the group and they seemed to glare with hostility. Their guide went on further to explain that the older generation were against the foreign policy that their new king had set and because of that, the city had been split into two separate factions. One supporting the former king and the other supporting their current king.

It made sense now why Masrur, Ja'far and Sakura felt as if they were being watched. What happened back in the palace was also making much more sense to them. There was division even within the government of Heliohapt.

Their guide then spoke, his voice taking on a more pleasant tone, "I'm sure someday they'll come to understand our point of view." He smiled brightly and Sakura saw the rukh fluttering around. This is what's best for the sake of Heliohapt's future. We believe that with all our hearts."

Sinbad and Sakura returned the smiles with their own.

* * *

Upon arriving at the inn, Sinbad immediate went to the reception desk to check them into their rooms. Sakura and Sinbad ended up having an argument in front of the receptionist, as Sinbad only wanted to order six rooms when they were in need of seven-expecting them to share one room and bed. Meanwhile Ja'far saw to it that their guides were thanked properly for their hospitality-even after he had behaved so suspiciously towards them and asked if they would be their guides the next day as well. They eagerly agreed, shaking hands with Ja'far. Although the ex-assassin found it a miracle that they had agreed to show them around again when they could hear Sinbad and Sakura's bickering a little ways from them. Apparently Sinbad was determined to share that room with Sakura; while the pinkette refused to waver at her decision to keep in a separate room.

"I'm not sharing a room with you." Sakura stated, glaring up at Sinbad.

"But why not?" Sinbad asked, holding up his hands in case she decided to attack him.

"Uh, I don't know-because I sense a danger to my chastity." Sakura hissed the last word under her breath.

"I wouldn't do anything without your consent! We're dating now, so why would you be worried if I did something?" Sinbad asked, appearing genuinely curious and lost.

"Boyfriend's don't get marriage privileges."

"Say that when you have a bite mark on your neck," Sinbad countered, smug as he watched her face heat up to a delightful red while she slapped her hand over the side of her neck.

"Sinbad…" Sakura glowered,

The man at the reception desk then addressed them, "You're Sinbad correct?"

The violet haired teen, turned his attention back to the man he had forgotten was there for a moment and nodded to confirm his identity.

"There's a guest here to see you."

Sinbad raised an eyebrow, asking who would come all the way here to visit him. Hinahoho immediately and rather recklessly stated in assumption that it was women who had taken the effort to visit him and Sinbad immediately went on the defence. Turning to Sakura who now had her eyebrows raised, tapping her foot at Sinbad.

"Really Sinbad?"

"No! I haven't done anything yet! You were with me the whole time!" Sinbad said flaying his arms around and secretly plotting to get Hinahoho back for this. There had been a little incident in Artemyra that he was certain Rurumu would want to hear about-although he had promised not to say anything before.

"I don't know Sinbad, while we were sightseeing, you got pretty friendly with the girl at the apothecary didn't you?"

"Hey I was only-

"Just shut up." Ja'far cut in, glaring back at them. They were really making them look bad. Ja'far looked back to their guide and rubbed the back of his head. "I promise we'll cause less trouble tomorrow so please take care…

A soft yet heavy thud had everyone turning their heads to where Ja'far and their tour guides stood. A scream erupted through the inn that had some of the outsiders rushing in to see what had caused such a distraught cry. Ja'far was kneeled over the body of their guide whose eyes were wide open but there was nothing in them, like windows painted white.

"He's…dead!" Ja'far exclaimed, clenching his jaw.

Sakura rushed over to Ja'far, checking the guide's body. Though still warm, she could confirm after checking his pulse that he was indeed dead. She automatically went to look for any physical signs of what might have caused this.

Sinbad and Mystras stood from a distance, trembling as they looked at Ja'far. Even going as far as to ask if he was the one who killed him, given his past but that only succeeded in making Ja'far angry after confirming he hadn't.

"But what in the world is going on here?" Sinbad asked seriously, "Why would someone who seemed just fine suddenly die?"

That was something Sakura wanted to confirm as well, so she began to examine the body while his friends continued to sob around him, covering his face with a cloth.

"I'm not sure," Sakura said, her eyes scanning over the body. She lifted one of the boy's arms; it was cold to the touch, and started looking for any sign of wounds. She had examined bodies with similar cases of sudden death with no explanation and they all usually resulted in the same thing-poison. Now the only way she could confirm that would be to find the place where it was inserted.

However, Sakura felt that she might not get the chance to state her case because there were already whispers coming around from the people who had heard the commotion from outside and were now looking at Sinbad and his group with suspicious eyes as they whispered as if they intended to be heard.

"It's the curse, it has to be."

"Isn't this the third death this month?"

"Perhaps our current king is mistake after all…."

"It would have been better if we stuck to the old ways and did not interact with foreigners."

"The former king must be angered by the presence of outsider's in our country."

The tension in the air was growing, Sakura kept her eyes down while ignoring the obvious glares of the people of Heliohapt. It looked like they were ready to begin the accusations and hostilities. Sakura then saw something on the other arm, a small dot of red that wouldn't be visible to eyes that wasn't looking for it. A puncture wound by a needle….

"Sinbad," Sakura turned around, "He was murdered!"

The exclamation had everyone's eyes drawn to Sakura now, including the citizens of Heliohapt, who were clearly still quite sceptical of Sakura's announcement.

"What do you mean it's not a curse!?"

"You outsider, what do you know!?"

"That's right!"

As the murmurs started to grow, Sinbad appeared to be growing agitated but before he was able to step in, a new voice was added to the mix and silenced the chorus of chaos. "Everyone calm yourselves! She is right, it's undoubtedly murder."

A new pair of hands reached down towards the corpse, taking the arm that Sakura held in their own. When Sakura glanced up, she nearly lost her balance at the sight of Serendine and her two attendants beside her. Sakura knew that her mouth was open in a rather ungraceful manner but she couldn't bring herself to close it as she stared at the Parthevia princess.

"That's…that's your guest!" The innkeeper said, gesturing to the girl.

Hearing that Serendine was actually Sinbad's guest that they had been informed about the counter. She began to realise that the princess must have followed after the group.

Serendine looked back to Sakura, "Sakura, tell me what you see from this man's body."

Realising that there was a more important matter at hand; Sakura looked back down at the body and began explaining in a clear tone for everyone in the inn to hear. "Look here." She held up the injured arm, "This is a puncture wound from a needle, which could be lace with poison. He only died now but his body temperature has dropped significantly which is unusual. That would mean that it's most likely a poison that affects the heart."

Serendine then added her own information to Sakura's theory, "If you mix Girros Grass, commonly found in the Northern regions, with the body fluids of the Ofuki frog and then boil the mixture. You can create a deadly poison that causes no symptoms until just before death."

The princess then added that it wouldn't be easy to make this kind of poison in their particular region and that this was definitely murder and not a curse. She told everyone to consider the situation more carefully instead of jumping to superstitious conclusions. The speech seemed to settle all the locals, they alerted the authorities to whom Sakura and Serendine gave the same explanation and they were cleared for any suspicion of being involved as incidents like this had been happening months before they even arrived.

Sakura sighed as she watched the authorities leave with the body and the two grieving friends. Attention was drawn back to Serendine and her attendants.

"You guys really saved us," said Ja'far. "But what are you doing here?"

Serendine answered on account of her nervous attendants who bowed their heads. "I was the one who decided to come after you. They only followed because they were worried for my safety."

Ja'far started ranting, when he realised that the three women had crossed the desert following after them. Despite the danger and threat of bandits, thieves and the harsh climate. Sakura had to hold up her hand to stop Ja'far hallway since he seemed close to going into a lecture.

"Honestly," Sakura sighed, looking at the three. "If you wanted to come along, you should've just said so."

Serendine clenched a fist, "I didn't think that I would be welcomed. It's not exactly customary for women to venture into dangerous lands."

"That didn't stop me." Placing her hand on Serendine's shoulder, causing the older girl to look up at the other pinkette. Sakura smiled. "From those stories you've told me, I think we would've welcomed 'The poisonous spider princess.'"

The nickname was something Serendine had apparently earned in the short years she has been a solider. She had told Sakura, that it was because she had a niche for using poison in battle.

"I apologise, I should've made my intentions clear before you let." Serendine said, stepping back to look at Sakura and Sinbad. "I want to become a source of strength for you too! I can't just stand back and wait. So please…"

There was a different light in Serendine's eyes as she gazed up, her face holding a genuine and honest expression. "Let us accompany you on your journey."

Sinbad smiled back at her, stepping forward to stand beside Sakura. "Well then, I suppose we have to choice but to accept."

"Welcome," Sakura held out her hand which was taken in Serendine's.

Ja'far didn't even bother protesting, because he knew that if Sakura and Sinbad were going to stand beside the princess and her attendants. There was no winning when they were together. Apart, they were amazing, but together; they were a force that could move the hearts of everyone they met and there was nothing that they couldn't do together. Ja'far believed that with every fibre of his being and he knew that if he asked anyone else that had come to know the two-that they would agree. It was both incredible and terrifying.

* * *

After, everyone decided to take to the royal palace and inform the higher-ups of the recent incident. It was not only to insure that the group would not draw any negative attention to themselves but also to confirm something that had been racking their minds since they discovered the partial truth to the so called 'curse.'

Consul Narme's did not appear shocked at the news, but appeared more nervous as he apologised and even offered to arrange for them to stay at a different inn.

Noting the nervous gleam of perspiration on Narmes face, Sakura decided to speak before Sinbad was able to. "Consul Narmes, were you aware that these incidents was not a curse and actually murder?"

Narmes averted his gaze from the pinkette and they all knew that they were well aware of the situation and that they were attempting to hide the truth for whatever reason. A reason that Sinbad and Sakura were determined to find out.

"As I thought," Sinbad said, "There are excellent pharmaceuticals in Heliohapt so you were bound to discover that these incidents were actually murders if you really investigated them. So, can you tell us what's really going on, Consul Narmes?"

Though Sinbad has asked the question, his tone underlined a hidden warning that he would not take well to being turned away or lied to now.

Narme's gave in almost immediately when he saw the look in Sinbad's eyes, "I understand, I will tell you everything since you're caught up in it. The truth about our country…."

The royal consul then proceeded to tell the group about the hidden truth of Heliohapt and its internal strife that had begun on the day that life had ended for their former king. He had two son's prince Armakan and his younger brother, prince Sharrkan. Although prince Armakan was older, he was the son to the second queen and therefore the line of succession fell second to him by right, but prince Sharrkan was only nine years old. So prince Armakan was enthroned. Following the death of the former king of Heliohapt was the second queen whose death was sudden and unexpected. Soon after, there was an outbreak of death throughout Heliohapt, all the victims were those who stood behind the king Armakan.

"This of course, resulted in the current king losing many of his supporters."

The so called phenomenon in Heliohapt was beginning to clear up, and although they wanted to wait to the end of the story, Sinbad and Sakura were already coming to worrisome assumptions but decided to keep to themselves for the time being.

"And that's when this so called 'curse' came up?" Sakura asked, keeping her lips in a thin line. "Because king Armakan had begun adopting foreign policy and there were those against it."

Narme's gave a curt nod, holding his arm with the snake across his chest. "I mentioned the factions before, the former king's faction were the ones who started this tale of the 'curse.' And began promoting prince Sharrkan as the legitimate heir to the throne. We realised that the death of the second queen and the death of the current king's supporters were all caused by poisoning. So that made it likely that someone in the former king's faction was responsible."

Sinbad frowned, he asked what was now lingering in everyone's minds and materialize it into words. "If you realized that, why didn't you do something?"

Narme's looked at his feet, "We don't have physical proof that it's someone from the previous king's faction."

What Sakura was thinking, is that it was possible it wasn't only a single person from the king's faction. It was more likely to make sense, but as Narme's had pointed, they could not make any accusations without proof or they would be the ones in the wrong."

"But if we let things continue like this. Our internal conflicts will only continue. What are we supposed to do?"

Silence was the only answer everyone in the room was able to give. None could come with any viable answer, that wouldn't have some kind of drawback. In the midst of everyone's inner contemplation, a new voice echoed in the room.

"That's enough Narmes."

Narme's gasped at the sight of his ruler now standing before them, his giant cobra had the end of its trail wrapped around his ankle that spiralled all the way to the king's head, yet he showed no sign bearing the weight of the creature.

"King Armakan!"

The king addressed his consul, in a voice that gave no detail to hidden motives or meaning. Simple and straight. "These travellers are from a foreign country. We've caused you enough trouble because of our country's problems. There's no reason to drag you further into this. It would be better if you left the country as soon as possible."

Sakura looked to Sinbad, after he gave a tilt of the head with consent, she stepped in front of king Armakan, her arms folded. "Your highness, if I may."

She waited for him to respond and after a brief nod, she continued. "I apologise in advance, but I'm afraid that we can't obey your wishes. Now that we know what is happening in this country, we cannot simply leave."

There was a brief pause, before Armakan responded to the pinkette. "It wouldn't be right to ask foreigners to assist us in this matter."

Sakura placed a hand over her chest, gesturing to herself. "This matter, revolves around more than just changing foreign policy. It is a threat to your reign and possibly life. We're not usually one's to get involved in internal strife within countries."

All of Sakura's companions gave her deadpan expressions of disbelief; wondering if she had forgotten their last few journey's to Imuchakk and Sasan. Though they knew better than to interrupt the pinkette when she was defending their causes

"But our leader brought us here with a goal in mind and we won't leave until we fulfil it."

Sinbad smiled, as he admired his partner from behind. That definitive and passionate tone always made him a little weak. It was always reason to admire her. She was a reassurance and confidence in his moments of doubt. He had realised this back in those times when she was not around, and came to understand the saying, 'you never know what you have until it's gone.'

"We are willing to help in any way we can and right now it seems that you are in need of some allies." Sakura pointed, taking two bold steps towards the king. Still weary of the snake, which was looking at her with its big yellow slit eyes. "So please, consider. We only wish to help you, not undermine you."

"And I appreciate your offer, were circumstances different I would accept." Armakan said, curtly yet politely. "But it is not, it would be best if you all left this country."

Sakura frowned, "If you meant that your highness, then you would have no issue looking me in the eye and saying it again."

Ja'far looked at Sinbad, disbelief written on his face. Sakura was not the kind to disrespect authority or act recklessly around them. "She's been spending too much time with you Sin,"

"What did I do?" Sinbad pouted. Ja'far shook his head, even the king's attendants appeared surprised by the pinkette; it was either her actions or her words.

"Very well," Without hesitance Armakan's eyelids lifted to reveal a pair of green eyes that were almost tinged yellow and paled, far from Sakura's own emerald green eyes that seemed to shine. There was a kind of fatigue in them, from an internal strife that he was facing alone. It made Sakura want to help him all the more.

Armakan had never seen anything like this. The pinkette's eyes was a colour that would only be found in emeralds. So deep, it was almost safe to call them unusual. They were captivating, a feature that would carve itself into your mind as an inscription is carved on stone. And for a minute, king Armakan was speechless, as one would be when discovering something that did not belong and yet still drew you to it.

Then he remembered why he had actually taken to opening his eyes to the sight. "As I said, there is no need for any of you to involve yourselves further. I shall put an end to this conflict. Tomorrow, I will go to the tomb of the royal family."

Narme's interjected harshly, taking a fast step forward. "You mustn't! If something happens to you!"

Sinbad and his companions all started glancing amongst one another, with curios expressions. Armakan pointed out to Narmes that this was now the only option, to visit the royal tomb. From the disdained tone Narmes as he spoke, they became aware that something was amiss before the consul's words confirmed it. "I shall accompany to the place that use to be the royal tomb…before it became that mysterious structure."

Sinbad's interrupted the two quickly, "What exactly is this 'mysterious structure' you're talking about?"

"Of course, you're travellers so you wouldn't know…" Narmes turned sideways to the group, "This country has one more problem. It appeared overnight, a structure in place of importance to the royal family. The royal tomb where past kings were laid to rest. No matter how many soldiers were sent to investigate it, not a single one came back."

That was an all too familiar statement. A structure where no army would return from, there was only one known place like that-a dungeon. There was a dungeon in Heliohapt. Sakura did not know if one would call this fate or coincidence, but either way they were definitely not going to be leaving this country anytime soon.

"But, if that's the case why would you want to go there your highness?" asked Sakura.

Armakan went on to tell them that the Royal Tomb, was a sacred place in Heliohapt, that allowed past generations of kings to watch over their people and where the new king would succeed the throne through a formal investiture. Remembering that the group before them were novices to the way of Heliohapt, Narmes continued to explain to the group.

"Here in Heliohapt, it has been custom since ancient times for the heir named by the previous king, to be formally named king in a ceremony held in the Royal Tomb."

It made sense why they weren't able to have this ceremony, because the Royal Tomb appeared to be inaccessible currently. The words of the former king would be carved on his sarcophagus, which would verify who the next king would be. However, as they weren't able to enter the tomb, they could not verify what was written. In other words, there was no way of knowing who the legitimate heir to the throne actually was.

"I see," Ja'far said, after taking in the explanation. "Due to circumstances, the pervious king's faction is trying to put forth someone else as the true heir to the throne?"

Narmes nodded, "They made up the idea of a 'curse'. Thinking that they could use the uncertainty of the crown to topple lord Armakan's reign." Looking down with a saddened expression, Narmes held his arm across his chest. "We believe he is our king. If we could just prove that Lord Armakan is the legitimate king, then all of this conflict would come to an end….If we could just visit the Royal Tomb. If that mysterious structure would just disappear!"

" _I know where this is going," Sitri said, sounding exasperated._

'Of course.' Sakura grinned, looking back to Sinbad who returned it.

"Don't worry, your majesty." Sinbad said as he crossed is arms, confidences shining his golden eyes. "We'll handle the structure…no, the dungeon. Leave it to us."

Armakan's faction looked at the odd group of travellers with surprised painted all over their faces.

"That place is undoubtedly one of the many dungeons that appear around the world. It's a dangerous place but if you conquer it, the structure will disappear and the place will return to the way it was before." Sinbad spoke, holding his hand over his heart as if making a pledge."

Narmes was speechless before a few seconds before he was able to address the young man, "Sinbad, just who in the world are you?"

That was question that started to replay in Sakura's mind. She would probably be able to answer that question to an extent, but knowing the rhetorical context, it would not have been appropriate.

Then a familiar voice shrilled, like the painful scraping against a cobble stone. Queen Patra entered, with vizier Gafra besides her and priest Anubis. She paid no regard to the group and focused her vice-lied glare on Narmes. "Oh Narmes, how deplorable. Making up lies about us scheming to poison people and passing it off as a curse…"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the older women, she and her advisors had clearly been eavesdropping on the group. It wasn't coincidence that they decided to appear at this moment.

"It seems like the only one capable of leading our country correctly is my son. Sharrkan should be king after all!"

"Our king…The true king who inherited the will of the former king, please show yourself." Gafra announced.

Through the long hallway, the footsteps indicating new arrivals. There were two hefty men, on their shoulders were golden planks which held a well decorated sedan seat. It was mostly gold, with pillars on either side of the small chair, suited only for a child, with white fabric lining the top. On the seat, was a young boy-no older than ten; he had a small snake wrapped around his leg up to his knee, he wore a headpiece similar to Armakan's, he also had that same white hair and pale green eyes that seemed void of life. Like a dolls.

"The second prince, Lord Sharrkan."

Sakura stared at the small boy, despite the similarities that the people of Heliohapt inherited. She could tell that Armakan and Sharrkan were related just by the appearance of their faces-especially their eyes.

Gafra then addressed Narmes, his bulky arms crossed. "How dare you insult us by denying Lord Sharrkan the crown that legitimately belongs to him?! Narmes. You're an embarrassment as a consul."

That set the young consul off, his composure lost by the fury that engulfed him by the obvious ploy of the former king's faction. Narmes pointed that they were using the fact they have been unable to enter the Royal Tomb to their advantage; he even went as far as to accuse them of aiming to take the throne for themselves because no one was able to have the form investiture.

Gafra then pointed that this uncertainty was proof that Sharrkan should be the legitimate heir and also added that the majority of Heliohapt were supporting the former king's faction already.

Before Narmes was able to continue his ran through anger, Armakan held his staff across from his consul to pause his words before speaking.

"I am the 36th king of Heliohapt." He spoke with composure, his eyes closed once more. "I have accepted responsibility and have the resolve needed to be king. No matter what you do, or what schemes you put in place. I will never waver. Remember that."

That put a pause of silence in the entire room, no one dared to utter a word until a minute had passed.

"Shut up, False King Armakan."

Everyone's heads turned to the young boy sitting up on the sedan. His face like a blank canvas. "The one who should be seated on the throne is me. I was entrusted with the will of the former king and I am the one with the most direct line of succession." He didn't make a sound as he took a breath, before continuing. "Besides I saw it…The name that my father had carved into his sarcophagus…was my name."

There was a change in atmosphere around the room in that instant. As some seemed to clearly understand the meaning behind this.

"For generations, before a king would die, he would summon a mason and give him the name of his successor to be carved into the king's sarcophagus. It is forbidden for any living person to know the identity of the next heir before the investiture. Therefore the mason must die alongside the king. However, the former king's mason came to me to plead for his life. He said he had his family to think about…of course such behaviour is unforgivable. In the end, the mason was beheaded. However the name that was carved into the sarcophagus..."

He didn't have to say it again as everyone realised that he insinuation spoke volumes. There were various expressions, of arrogance and delight from the queen and Gafra, anger and surprise from the current king's faction as well as dread and then simple understanding and cold concern from Sinbad's group.

What's more, Armakan himself had started to treble dangerously, gritting his teeth hard. He spoke loudly, putting an end to Patra and Gafra's celebratory expressions as well as their statements of preparing for the formal investiture and making a formal announcement of this news.

"STOP THIS FARCE!" Armakan ordered. His eyes forcibly shut. "How foolish…you want the throne so badly that you're willing to go that far…You're a disgrace to the royal family! Never show your face in front of me again!"

Armakan took his abrupt leave, his followers trailing after him with haste as the former king's faction mocked his behaviour.

'Something's definitely amiss.' Sakura concluded, frowning deeply. She couldn't understand why the second prince, would want to keep information about his inheritance to the throne for so long, only to reveal it when Sinbad happens to mention that they were willing to enter into the dungeon and get rid of it.

Then the vizier said something that allowed Sakura to put everything into perspective. "Travellers, you said you know everything about that mysterious structure. That's perfect, I'll give you a special mission. Get rid of that 'dungeon' and return the location to the way it was before. So that we can enter the Royal Tomb."

Emerald eyes widened in realisation, she looked up quickly at the young prince. The rukh around him fluttered in a sad flicker.

" _What is it my king?" asked Stolas_

Sharrkan felt the piercing gaze and gave a subtle glance at the pinkette before looking back down with the same stoic expression on his face.

'He's lying.'

Sinbad had accepted the mission given to them by the former king's faction. They would be taken to the dungeon the next morning. With that, the queen, vizier and silent priest left. Though some of his companions questioned Sinbad's decision to help them, Sinbad intended on conquering the dungeon either way and this was just a bonus-as their reward for removing the dungeon would be clearance to trade with Heliohapt.

" _That man is very greedy my king, what do you see in him?" asked Beleth_

Sakura looked at Sinbad, smiling as she saw him surrounded by his allies. 'A great king.'

Sinbad only seemed to notice that Sharrkan had not followed after his mother, remaining still before ordering the men to set the sedan down. They did so without a word and he stepped down, in his high soled sandals. Sending the men away with his sedan, he turned to the group.

"I also have something I wanted to speak with you about." Sharrkan's voice was soft, unlike the way he had spoken to his brother which was harsh and far more forced. "I'm grateful to you foreigners, thanks to you I was able to divert mother's and Gafra's attention. In the palace, I am always supervised by them, so I have quite restricted. Mother and Gafra are unable to control my brother, so they want to make me king and control the country through me."

Sakura titled her head down, she had the sneaking suspicion that there was something like that going on. There were many kinds of parents out there, one of which would use their children as tools for power and political matters. Some would even sell their own children as slaves.

"What I said before…about my name being carved into the sarcophagus and the mason being beheaded…"

"It was a lie." Sakura stated stepping forward, to stand in front of Sharrkan.

The second prince nodded timidly, "Yes."

"I thought it was strange. If it was the truth, then it made no sense for you to have kept it from the queen Dowager and vizier." Serendine said.

Sakura nodded, "Because before you made up that lie, they wouldn't have allowed us to enter the dungeon in case your name wasn't actually on the sarcophagus."

"That's right…Asking complete strangers and foreigners on top of that for help may be a mistake. But there's no one else I can ask. Please get rid of that 'Dungeon'."

There was a sincerity, almost desperation that could be heard in his voice as the prince presented himself to the group of travellers.

"Prince Sharrkan, that is what we intend to do but…" Ja'far trailed "If it turns out that your name is not engraved on that sarcophagus. Then you will be the one put in a precautious position."

Tightening his grip on the golden staff he carried, Sharrkan spoke in a blank tone. "I know. Ever since we were born, my brother and I have been forced to oppose one another. But the ones who wanted the conflict were only the ones around me, I never wanted that. The truth is that…I wanted something more normal." The group were unaware that he was referring to normal in the sense of his relationship with his brother as well as his life. "I don't care if I'm hated, as long as Heliohapt can return to being the way it should be. That's my responsibility as royalty."

He looked up at the whole group. "Please help us."

Turning her attention back to Sinbad, she waited for him to give a quick nod before proceeding.

Bending down, Sakura held her arm across her chest. "Prince Sharrkan," she waited for the boy to look up at her, before smiling, a smile that could touch someone from the furthest visible distance. "We'll take care of everything. I promise."

Sharrkan nodded, feeling a flutter deep within him. A sliver of hope-something he had not felt in all nine years of his life.

* * *

Sakura glanced back at Sinbad, murmuring to him softly. "When you become king, please reframe from indulging in polygamy. I think todays turn of events have taught us that much at least."

He chuckled, turning on his side to look in the pinkettes eyes as she lied next to him on the bed. As they would only be heading off the dungeon in the morning, everyone had gone back to the inn to rest. Sakura had given into sharing a room with Sinbad, after today's events had completely overthrown her mind, as well as her worry for the second prince of Heliohapt.

"I don't know, I think having more than one spouse helps with diversity in marriage. I don't think having two or three wives would be too bad." Sinbad grinned.

"Well," she sat up, shifting the soft covers causing it to fall from over her shoulders. "I hope the four of you will be very happy together."

Their room was spacious, mostly because it was empty. With a plush feather bed tucked under the window, their djinn metal vessels lying on top of the nightstand with snake carvings on them. A carpet that covered most of the stone floors, there were a few noted painted patterns on the upper lining of the walls. With a style that was unique to Heliohapt. There was also a low set table, with two long couches-long enough for someone to sleep on. Which seemed to be Sakura's new idea as she moved her legs over the edge of the bed.

Sinbad grabbed the strap of her sports bra and pulled her back onto the bed, he sighed. "You just can't take a joke."

"You just can't take a hint." Sakura retorted. Her face softened as she relaxed back into Sinbad, his hand fell onto her waist, tracing the lining of her almost non-existent curve. "I'm really worried about this."

Sinbad knew she wasn't talking about conquering the dungeon, or the conflict in Heliohapt. "Prince Sharrkan."

"And Armakan." Sakura said. "It's just-the whole concept of two brother's being pitted against each other like this-it just makes me-

Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment, blinking back tears. Although the situation was in the utmost vaguest sense related to the topic she couldn't help thinking about Sasuke and the way he wanted to exact revenge on his older brother for wiping out their entire clan. Her mind was clearly still quite a ways from removing him from her mind.

"It's a really dangerous path to set siblings on." Sakura finished, her tone indifferent now. "I don't want prince Sharrkan and king Armakan to be in any danger, but after tomorrow-one of them will be."

Sinbad frowned, "I know."

Sakura gripped the covers tightly, "Even though I promised to help him…I still feel like I won't be able to fulfil it, even if we do get rid of the dungeon."

Sakura felt herself being turned so that she was face to face with Sinbad, he had a calming smile on his face. A reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it. That I can promise you."

A sense of warmth enveloped the pinkette, as she rested her forehead against Sinbad's after closing her eyes. She felt him kiss her swiftly and muttering goodnight.

"If you want to keep that hand, don't let it travel further south." Sakura warned, with her eyes closed peacefully.

"Someday." Sinbad chuckled, though with a hint of desire that made Sakura blush.

 **Well, that's it for now. Don't forget to review everyone.**


	31. Zepar's trial:A princess or interloper?

**HELLO READERS.**

 **I am finally able to update after a gruelling week of nothing but assignments, homework and readings. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

" _Are you not going to be aiming for the djinn yourself my king?" asked Stolas_

'No. You four are enough.' Sakura barely felt the hot wind touch her skin as she stared up at the stone structure. Stacked similarly to a pyramid, only with levels and more edges visible in a rectangular form. There was a staircase cutting down the middle that lead to the entrance gate of the tower. A dungeon-as they all knew it. Sinbad and his friends all looked at the tower with more or less the same expressions, passive. Although they could feel a tension in the air, it was not resonating from anyone in their group but they knew where it was coming from. On one side there was Sharrkan along with his mother and her followers and on the other was Armakan and his advisors.

Sakura looked at Sharrkan as he sat upon the sedan with that same blank face and lonely eyes, while his mother and the vizier snickered. Believing that they were all but one step away to gaining control over Heliohapt. She still worried about what was going to happen to Sharrkan when this was finished. Lying about his inheritance to the throne couldn't end well for him and if he was actually declared king then the country would continue with its internal conflict but if he wasn't then….

"Let's go." Sinbad said, gesturing to the top of the tower. He held out his for Sakura and she took it without saying a word. Sakura didn't hesitate when they entered the dungeon, engulfed by the light and drawn in too quickly along with their comrades.

* * *

A water djinn perhaps, was Sakura's first assumption when she opened her eyes to the sight of stone carved lion heads that spouted water from their gaping mouths, into the enclosed room and onto the floor, creating a pool. The group stood on a platform, leading out of the room by a one way path.

Sinbad looked at his friends to make sure that everyone was accounted for, "Alright we're all here."

When entering or exiting a dungeon, there was the possibility of time variations as both Sakura and Sinbad had experienced. It seemed that they were fortunate this time.

Detaching her hand from Sinbad's, Sakura took a cautious step to the edge of the platform to glance into the clear water. From past experience, djinn's did not waste time to throw challengers at those who attempted to conquer their dungeon. To a point where she would consider djinns sadistic, although all of her djinns argued that they were merely testing the ability of the challengers.

Everyone who was new to what a dungeon looked like, was peering around rather awe struck-especially Mystras.

"We shouldn't dwell too much." Sakura said, addressing everyone.

There was a bit of disadvantage to having such a large group enter the dungeon; when alone there was no concern for the safety and wellbeing of anyone but yourself. The situation was different now and not something Sakura was as use to. Having conquered most dungeons alone. She wasn't a novice to the situation, but dungeons were unpredictable places where literally anything could happen. It usually wasn't good for visitors.

"She's right," Ja'far agreed. "Our top priority is conquer the dungeon and return the Royal Tomb to is former state."

Sinbad stepped forward in front of the large double doors that stood at the end of the room. "Let's cut out the exploration and take a shortcut straight to the treasury."

" _My king, what is he talking about?" Beleth asked with worry in his voice._

'I don't know but it can't be good.'

"Sinbad, what are you planning?' Sakura asked wearily. He had a certain gleam in his eyes that usually appeared only before he did something you wouldn't expect-and normally wouldn't approve of.

"Is something the matter?" Serendine asked Sakura, noting she grew a shade paler.

"Possibly-Sinbad, what are you going to do?"

Sinbad's response to the pinkettes question was to transform, into Baal's djinn equip. His form now resembling a dragon. He held out his sword, now pointing them at the closed doors of the room. "It would be faster to cut a path straight through to the treasury!"

It took a moment for Sakura to actually contemplate what Sinbad was suggesting and before she could stop him, Sinbad had already drawn back his sword, preparing to unleash an attack. Ignoring his comrade's protests about the recklessness this exhumed.

"Sinbad wait-that might not be a good idea-

However, Sinbad was barely able to announce the name of his attack, before feeling his feet leave the ground and his body grow weightless. That feeling was shared with his friends as their visions became glared and they felt as if they were being lifted.

* * *

When their vision sharpened, everyone felt themselves taking a rather clumsy and unexpected landing. Hitting solid ground. Several 'uwah' and 'ouch' echoed when their bodies made contact with the floor. When Sinbad sat up, rubbing his head, he noticed that he was no longer in his djinn equip. It had somehow been disabled.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, feeling her head throb.

Taking in their surroundings, the group realised that this was a new environment. They were obviously still in the dungeon-but in a different room. A room larger and far grander, than the previous one. The ceiling was beyond reach, with several windows and light shining in from an unknown source. Water still filling most of the floor with several small circular platforms surrounding the room. Like little tree stumps and in the centre of that room, stood a taller platform that overlooked the others. A figure sitting above it.

"This is the treasury. I'm rather attached to this dungeon, so I prefer if you don't destroy it. Which is why I transported you here. I am the djinn of this dungeon."

The figure that spoke was blue skinned like all djinn, with long pointed ears, a large round belly, a third eye in the middle of its forehead and horns. His hair was like coral under the sea, his feet were of a rams and he had a long thin tail with a furred tip, as well as wings like a bats. "I am the djinn of spirit and puppetry. Zepar. Welcome humans."

Sakura heard her djinns speak at the same time. _"Uh oh."_

" _Out of all the djinns…." Trailed Beleth_

" _Good luck." Sitri said._

" _Be careful my king." Stolas said._

Sakura frowned, her djinns reactions felt like a cause for concern. Keeping a closer watch on the djinn Zepar and his eyes trailed through the group. She suddenly felt like disregarding the fact that being in the treasury meant they had avoided going through the long process of traps and tests that they would need to overcome in order to reach the goal.

Zepar looked at Sinbad, his clawed finger brushing against his chin in thought. "You're unusual. You have several djinns already, just like that king…"

'That king?' Sinbad wondered who he was referring to. The only ones with multiple djinns as far as he knew, was himself and Sakura.

'Who is this djinn talking about?' Sakura thought, she knew that Kouen had multiple djinns as well as Sinbad but was this djinn referring to him or someone else?

"It seems that among all of you, there's already one with his mind set on being king but…." Zepar gave a rather cold expression. Then Zepar's eyes fell on Sakura who was standing next to Sinbad, his eyes visibly widened while his pupil grew smaller. He leaned across the platform. "This unusual energy. You're….an interloper aren't you?"

Sakura took a step back in surprise. How did he know that? A djinn only ever seem to realise that she was an interloper after she would ask for a shard. Yet this djinn knew by taking one look at her?

"An interloper?" Ja'far asked from behind Sakura.

That's right. There were only two who knew of Sakura's origin and her full story. Yunan-who seemed to be more aware of her own situation than Sakura was and there was also Kouen but as for Sinbad and all her friends, they were oblivious to it and hadn't questioned her more than once about where she had come from and even then, her answers were aloof.

"I haven't seen one of your kind for a while." Zepar spoke casually. "A long way from home aren't we?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, the tone with which this djinn chose to spoke did not sit well with her and if he continued speaking, he might bring up the truth about her in front of all her friends and allies and that was not something she wanted. It was neither the time nor place.

"Excuse me, but we're sort of pressed for time here." Sakura said, crossing her arms. "I may be a dungeon capturer, but I have no interest in obtaining anymore djinns. So if you could begin the final test it would be appreciated."

Zepar sighed, flying back. "Too bad, this is a really rare opportunity for the both of us."

Sakura waved her hand. Attempting to mask her nervousness behind an indifferent demeanour. "Sorry, not interested. Sinbad's the one who wants to obtain you and between the two of us, he is the one most worthy."

"Well if the interloper is going to vouch for him…." The djinn then looked back to Sinbad, "Sinbad, you possess a rare type of magic power. As you already possess numerous household vessels, you are undoubtedly the king vessel. It's not your strength but the strength of your allies that I'll be testing. As a king, just how well will your allies obey you? That will be my trial for you."

Everyone was shocked by the turn of events, while each dungeon had their own variation. The final trial was meant for those who would be given the chance to obtain a djinn, but in this case that person would be sitting out of the trial and making his subordinates contend on his behalf?

"If all of your followers pass my test then I will grant you the power of a king. However if even one person fails, you will fail the whole trial and this will be the end for all of you."

There was definitely something deviant about this particular djinn, Sakura was more certain of that after Zepar made that declaration. This situation seemed far more lopsided.

'What is up with this guy?'

" _Zepar has never been the straightforward kind," Gaap told her. "He is one crafty guy-it actually suits him better than you would think."_

" _I'd be cautious." Beleth said seriously, "Stolas is known for being fickle and quite difficult."_

Well Sakura certainly did not like this. She was somewhat relieved she wouldn't be contesting for this djinn. She knew that Sinbad did not mind what kind of djinn he received, so long as he was able to utilise its power for his purpose. In this she was unable to stop herself from noting that Sinbad stood in a similar position to Sasuke in these terms. Both after power, unconcerned with where it came from but their purpose and reason for obtaining power was completely different.

" _Gluttony may be destructive but that doesn't mean abstinence is constructive"_

She remembered saying that to Sinbad once and now she had to remind herself of it. Keeping herself back from doing to Sinbad what she had tried to do with Sasuke and stop him from aiming for this power.

Despite all that he had just been told, Sinbad didn't waver when he spoke, smiling as he did. "So, the requirement is just that everyone has to pass the test right?" he turned to his friends "What's there to be worried about? I believe in the strength of each and every one of you. You all made it this far by fighting together because you're my friends and allies."

Sinbad's words of encouragement were just as effective as ever. Able to move the coldest hearts, no matter how simplistic his words may be. They would not have the same effect if they were repeated by anyone other than Sinbad himself. It was as if this was some kind of talent that could only be performed by one.

Sakura tightened her jaw; the trial hadn't even started yet and she was already feeling something was wrong in the pit of her stomach. She wouldn't say it though. This was Sinbad's trial, not hers and he had accepted. She would trust in his judgement.

"Let's get started then," Zepar snapped his fingers and the water rippled and to the surface appeared another platform, over towering the rest of the platforms like a stage. "First up, I'll have your fellow allies fight each other here. It'll make it easy to measure your strength."

"Fight…you mean in a match?" Drakon asked.

Hinahoho was grinning, throwing his spear over his shoulder, "Sounds interesting."

"Oh please don't relax just yet, this is a serious fight." Zepar warned. "I expect you to use your full strength. Now then, I'll choose the pair for the first match."

The djinn pointed to the group, more specifically at Hinahoho and Mystras. "First up is you two. Strength is necessary to protect your king. With similar weapons like the harpoon and lance, you seem suited to face each other. It would be beneficial to decide which one of you wields the strongest spear."

At first, Sakura wasn't entirely sure what the djinn Zepar was thinking putting Mystras and Hinahoho against one another. There was a considerable difference in their physical abilities based on race, but in this case Zepar was attempting to see who could wield their weapon best. Ja'far was concerned about the arrangement as well and therefore called Zepar up on it.

"Is this pairing really appropriate?" the white haired boy asked "Lord Hinahoho is an Imuchakk, a race that has superhuman strength and unnaturally resilient bodies. In comparison, even though Mystras is a knight, he is still a normal human."

Sakura decided to interject at that point, "That's true Ja'far, but physical prowess doesn't always determine the outcome of a battle. Zepar not only testing their physical strength."

'Still, if pairing someone up against Hinahoho, wouldn't Drakon be better suited?" Ja'far asked, looking back to Zepar.

Mystras then spoke, stepping forward. "That's not true Ja'far. I don't feel dissatisfied with the djinns choice." He rubbed the back of his head with a bashful smile. "It's true I'm not some special race of people, and I don't' have a household vessel but I am a knight of Sasan."

Mystras then looked over at Hinahoho, "No matter who my opponent is, I have no intention of losing."

With a satisfied smirk, Hinahoho walked to the front. "If that's how you feel, I can agree with that. Let's figure out, which one of us wields the strongest spear."

Ja'far rubbed the back of his head, realising that addressing that concern of his just riled his two friends up.

"Relax Ja'far." Sinbad said, "You worry too much. Let's just see what happens."

Sakura kept quiet, she still hadn't forgotten about her djinns warnings for Zepar. However, a match like this didn't seem to be any cause for concern. Although for as long as she had them, Sakura knew her djinns hardly ever exaggerated.

"The match will be decided when one of you is defeated. Now let's begin."

In the instant Zepar finished his announcement, there was the well-known clash of weapons. A dulled out thudding that would echo every time Mystras and Hinahoho's spears touched one another. It was a bit of a slow beginning, but quickly escalated.

Although Sakura was doing her best to keep a calm demeanour, she would tense at nearly any moment when the two males would clash. Neither was holding back. Hinahoho used his strength to his full advantage and Mystras used his size and agility to skilfully avoid the attacks. Although he couldn't keep away from all of them.

Slamming his harpoon into the ground, breaking it as Mystras jumped back, the broken rock of the floor scattered easily. Hinahoho then went to continue his attack, Mystras continued to evade them.

Peering, his hand over his forehead, Sinbad whistled. "He's got the same ridiculous strength. It would be difficult to withstand one of those attacks."

"But he can't just keep running away either." Ja'far stated.

Serendine looked over to Sakura, her arms crossed. "The Imuchakk is strong."

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "But Mystras isn't someone who will let up just because he's opponents are physically stronger."

From all of Hinahoho's attacks, the platform floor was mostly rubble now, creating thick clouds of dust around them. Mystras used that to his advantage, attacking Hinahoho from the side, scathing him with his lance. Then he went on the offense, using his speed to get past Hinahoho's harpoon and strike directly. Sakura noted that Mystras appeared to have gotten even faster than he was in Sasan.

However, Hinahoho wasn't going to give in so easily, he struck Mystras's spear and sent him flying back, across the platform.

"It's a good match." Ja'far observed.

Sakura nodded, "Mystras must have practiced hard for that kind of experience in combat."

Then Sakura noticed rukh, behaving very oddly around Mystras and Hinahoho as they continued to clash with one another. Her eyes then fell on Sinbad's sword, the eight pointed star magic circle was emitting a light and when she looked back to Hinahoho and Mystras, standing at a distance from one another, holding their spears out, she realised what was happening.

From Mystras's lance, a huge flash of lightening that sparked forward in a pointed shape "Household vessel Bararaq Harba."

With Hinahoho's harpoon, the giant head of a wolf, with jagged teeth in the form of ice and water. "Household vessel. Galfor Roromus."

Everyone was temporary blinded when the two household vessel attacks clashed with one another; the lightning and ice creating a cloud of mist after impact. When it cleared, both Hinahoho and Mystras were lying face flat on the ground on top of the cracked stone.

"HINAHOHO, MYSTRAS." Sinbad yelled.

Zepar took both of the males, lifting them up by the back of their clothing. "My, my, they are alive but they've exhausted their energy. The power of their household vessel was the same so they cancelled each other out. They were able to get this far by drawing out each other's power so that means they both pass."

Sakura immediately rushed to heal the two, when Zepar placed the unconscious Mystras and Hinahoho back down on the platform where everyone was standing. They were injured, but it was nothing that they wouldn't live through.

"You know that ending was pretty lame, a fight is supposed to be something a bit more desperate, a life or death situation, at least that's what I want to see." Zepar said, before pointing to the two youngest members of the group. "Ja'far, Masrur, you're up. But this isn't going to be a simple contest of strength. It'll be a fight to the death. You two will fight until one of you manages to kill the other."

Sinbad frowned, "What the hell…."

"You can't be serious!" Sakura exclaimed, holding her hands out over Mystras as she healed his wounds. She could put up with a battle, but not one where her comrades had to fight to the death. There was nothing worth that. Not even the power of a djinn.

Zepar had a satisfied smile on his face, arms crossed. "Ja'far and Masrur will fight to the death!"

Ja'far stared back at Zepar with a dark expression, "I'm afraid I have to refuse. Zepar wasn't this supposed to be a trial to test our strength? There's no reason for us to fight to the death."

Exasperated, Zepar sighed. "You just don't get it, in a dungeon the rules of a djinn are absolute. If I tell you to fight, you'll fight and if I tell you to kill each other you will."

Then Zepar said something that seemed to mortify and stun Ja'far. "Besides…what problem could you have with killing someone? You've killed plenty of people already right? What's the problem adding one more to the body count?"

Sakura frowned, how could Zepar know something like that?

"I know all about you. Sham Lash Chief Assassin, Ja'far." Zepar grinned wickedly, watching as Ja'far's eyes went wide in horror. "You really only felt alive when you were out for blood didn't you? Tormenting, hurting, killing…Somewhere deep in your heart, you found enjoyment in death didn't you?"

"I don't." Ja'far said, his eyes cast down.

"I don't believe you murderer." Zepar smiled.

Sakura was about to draw her hand against the djinn, not thinking of the consequences, but Masrur had acted before her. He drew his sword as he jumped high enough to reach Zepar's head before slashing through it.

"MASRUR!" Ja'far shouted.

The Fanalis landed on the platform where Hinahoho and Mystras had fought before and turned back to the group. "I am not a slave anymore. No one can order me to fight to the death again."

"You kids really don't listen to what you're told." Zepar said, surprising everyone as he reconnected his head to his neck with ease, steam appearing from where he had been cut as his flesh wound back together and then appearing as though there was nothing done to it in the first place.

"It's pointless. As long as you're in the dungeon, its djinn is invincible."

Sakura really wished they knew that early, if there was no way to defeat a djinn in their dungeon then that meant the only choice they had of escaping would be to go through with the trial but at the same time, she wouldn't want any of her friends to lose their lives for this.

"If you're really that against following my orders…." Zepar pointed a clawed finger at Masrur, "I'll do this."

A flash of light shot from Zepar's index finger, leading its way to Masrur. Zepar's head fell forward, his eyes closed as if asleep. However most of the attention was focused on Masrur, for some kind of reaction to that magic.

"Masrur?" Ja'far called softly.

Without warning, Masrur crouched down before leaping high into the air; stopping only when he reached the ceiling before twisting his body so that his feet were touching the roof and then he kicked off, shooting back down, heading for the platform. He plunged forward, crashing head first into the pillar that Sinbad and his friends were standing on, splitting it clear down the middle with his body.

Ja'far, Sakura and Sinbad rushed to the edge, looking down below for any signs of the boy. "Masrur!"

"Are you alright?" Sinbad called.

"How about it? Now we can make this an interesting death match."

Everyone turned around to see Masrur standing behind them, unharmed, having a big smile on his face that was too wide, his eyes were now rippled and green.

'Is he-?'

Masrur disappeared from where he was standing only a second ago, now on one of the lower platforms, running around and laughing as he called for everyone's attention. He was jumping around, doing flips and tricks.

"This body is amazing...I can jump so high like I'm flying and an inexhaustible supply of overflowing power." Masrur did another flip. "With a body like this-I can do anything."

He was being possessed. Sakura had realised that the instant she looked at Masrur's eyes. As someone who had been possessed before, by her friend Ino and her Mind Transfer Jutsu. Sakura knew that it was not something easily shaken. She had managed because she had an inner that held so much emotions it was basically another soul in her.

Masrur jumped back onto the destroyed platform, right behind Ja'far-who had also realised that this was not Masrur.

"I don't know what kind of power that is," Ja'far said, "But that is you isn't it, Zepar?"

'Masrur's' grin widened; "Heh, Bingo. I have the ability to meddle with people's minds. I fiddled with the kid's brain a bit." 'Masrur' tapped the side of his head. "His consciousness is asleep and I'm in control of his body now. This way we can fight without interruptions. Let's get started. A fright to the death!"

This djinn was really pushing Sakura's patience, she wouldn't mind stepping in just to keep Masrur and Ja'far from fighting one another. They were still only children; children she had grown fond of and cared for.

Sakura was about to step forward, reaching for Gaap when a hand settled on her shoulder. "Wait Sakura."  
She turned to Sinbad, frowning. "Sinbad what the heck?"

"This is one of the djinn's tests. Zepar may have a reason for all of this. Let's just watch for now."

Biting back a response, Sakura placed Gaap back in the swords sheath. Fighting against every instinct she had to step forward and somehow help the two.

When Masrur and Ja'far started fighting, it was clear that Ja'far intended to end the battle quickly because he had automatically tried attacking with his household vessel. Masrur was a Fanalis after all, so his power would out trump Ja'far and with Zepar in control of his body he wouldn't be able to help hurting Ja'far or killing him. However, Zepar seemed to have taken full advantage of the Fanalis body, using Masrur's speed to avoid Ja'far's wires and blades. He came up behind Ja'far after avoiding his attack, spinning in the air and without touching Ja'far. Yet Ja'far had felt as if he was being cut along his arm and there was blood dripping down now from visible wounds.

"It's not over yet!" Zepar called as Masrur's body slid back, he pushed off going forward and zipping towards Ja'far. Ja'far managed to move his body out of the way, but he was still cut across his face.

From where they were standing, Sinbad and Drakon were attempting to figure out what kind of attack that was.

"When Masrur accelerated, the air around him compressed and that created a kind of slashing effect." Sakura explained, keeping her eyes fixed on the match. She didn't wince when she dug her fingers into her arms.

They were not the only observers, Serendine was also fixated on the match. The more she watched the more in awe she became. To see a power to control a body as strong as Masrur's.

'If I could get my hands on the power of that djinn…perhaps I could…' Serendine did not say anything, but deep in her heart the goal had already been set. Carved so deep that it would leave a permanent scar.

Ja'far was barely about to stand, he hadn't been physically touched by Masrur and yet he was dripping blood wherever he moved.

"Ha ha! Awesome! You're just barely standing, yet I don't even have a scratch on me!" Zepar taunted Ja'far. He then moved his left leg back and crouched down on it while extending his right and drawing back his fist. "But I'm already bored of this. I'll put an end to you with one final blow.'

Sakura clenched her teeth, shaking now. "Sinbad, we can't this let this go on."

"I agree." Drakon said, "Ja'far will die if they continue to fight."

Ja'far scoffed at the possessed Masrur, one was barely able to make out his facial expression through all the blood that was painted across it. "You sure are conceited. Your real body can't be harmed and you borrowed another person's body in order to fight? Is that you how intend to win? Even though you're a djinn, you true nature isn't actually that great is it?"

" _This is very bad!" exclaimed Sitri, "What the child said was true but Zepar's not the most level headed-though I didn't think he'd take it this far."_

Sakura didn't need to be told that to know it, she could see the way 'Masrur' was now glaring at Ja'far, a kind of sinister aura surrounding him as he prepared to attack again.

"Fine I'll rip you apart. You and that impertinent mouth of yours!"

"JA'FAR" Sakura screamed when Masrur moved, pushing off with a powerful launch that had him in front of the ex-assassin in an instant but as he was about to deal the final blow, his movements were constrained by Ja'far's wires that were now binding the Fanalis body.

Ja'far smirked from under his bangs, "I finally caught you. No matter how strong you are, you can't break a household vessel can you? It was difficult because of your speed but in the end that's a borrowed body. No matter how fast you move, if I know what direction you're coming from all I have to do is set a trap. To a djinn like you, humans are inferior beings. The moment you let yourself get worked up, was the moment that you sealed your defeat." Ja'far took a short breath before he screamed. "GET OUT OF MASRUR. BARARAQ SEI"

Everyone watched as Ja'far used his household vessel to draw on Baal's power of lightning, sending-one could only guess how many-volts through the possessed Masrur. When he collapsed, Ja'far and everyone else had assumed that the match was finished.

Ja'far went over to check on Masrur's body, he saw his eyes open slightly and smiled. "Masrur, you're awake!"

But the voice that Ja'far heard, told him that this wasn't Masrur. "Heh, you sure surprised me, you almost knocked me out cold." Ja'far looked down at Masrur's form, horrified.

Zepar smiled up at Ja'far, with his eyes showing he still has possession of Masrur's body. "Don't make that face. Once the match is decided I'll leave this body."

"Wasn't it just decided!?"

Before replying, 'Masrur' grasped one of Ja'far's blades and pointed it in the direction of his heart, smiling all the while. "This is a fight to the death so you can't win until someone is dead. Go on. Kill him. If you kill him, you win. If one of you dies, you pass. That's the trial I've set for you. You want to devote your household vessel to serving your master right? If you want do that…Kill him!"

Sakura was certain she wouldn't want a djinn like that in her possession. Her djinn's worry became very clear to her now. Zepar was a dangerous djinn with a dangerous power. With the power to possess the bodies of other's, it was a temptation in itself and could be used for quite a convenience. She wasn't even sure she wanted Sinbad to have this power now.

Ja'far clutched the blade in his hand tightly, standing up. "The fight is decided after one of us dies right? In that case, it doesn't matter which one of us dies does it?"

Turning around, Ja'far smiled back up to Sinbad. "Sinbad, I'll leave the rest to you."

Sakura's eyes widened, her mouth fell open as she shook in horror as Ja'far plunged the tip of his blade directly into his heart and it was very much real. Blood stained his clothing, the cloth soaking it before it could reach the ground.

"JA'FAR" Sakura and Sinbad screamed as the boy fell onto the ground, unmoving.

Sakura was the first to leap across onto the platform, tears ready to pour should her last shred of hope be destroyed upon inspection. Her hands shook as she checked Ja'far's neck for a pulse, pressing her fingers harder than she should but still felt nothing.

Sinbad followed after Sakura, approaching the two carefully as she cradled Ja'far to her chest, holding him by his shoulder as she started sobbing.

"He-he-he-doesn't have a-he-he isn't-HE'S GONE." Sakura clutched Ja'far's still warm body to hers.

A fit of laughter broke them out of their grief, causing them to pause before being filled with anger as they looked over at Zepar-who was still in Masrur's body.

"Nice. Good Job Ja'far," he cackled, "That's the resolve it takes to be able to throw your life away for the sake of your king. You pass."

Zepar then left Masrur's body, returning to his own, opening his eyes to look over the group from high above. Masrur's body slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"It was a good match huh?" Zepar grinned.

Sinbad's voice seemed void when he asked, "A good match?"

"Yeah!" Zepar replied, unaware of the vice behind Sinbad's question. "It was a good fight that brought out the strength of desperation. The first par were able to surpass their limits of their own strength and the next showed their willingness to offer up their lives for their master. I couldn't have asked for better results. You've got some excellent subordinates!"

Sakura wiped her face, sniffing as she looked up to Sinbad who was standing over her and Ja'far. She gasped, scared when she saw the expression on his face, his eyes glistening with rage.

"Now that all that's over what shall we do next?" Zepar asked pleased, "The next test will be…

"Quit fucking around!" Sinbad drew his sword-in his djinn equip instantly. He turned his back to Sakura, pointing his weapon at the djinn.

Zepar seemed surprised by this outburst. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Zepar, we are not your playthings." Sinbad sneered. "They took their fights seriously; listening to your unreasonable requests and because it was a trial I just stood back. If this, if this is the outcome, I won't let you get away with this."

Sinbad's rage was as overwhelming as his charismatic radiance that drew you towards him; powerful enough to repel.

"Can you throw your life away for your king? How much pain are you will to go through for the sake of your king? If those are the things that make someone a loyal subject, I don't want anything to do with them." Sinbad held his sword a little high, "I'll take it upon myself! Whether it means putting my life at risk or suffering…I'll make you regret playing around with the lives of my friends!"

There was an intense aura Sakura felt from Sinbad, the way he spoke of taking on a difficult role for the sake of his friends. It was all too familiar, reminding her of Naruto.

"It's pointless. Inside a dungeon, the djinn is-

"Invincible right?" Sinbad finished for him. "But what if you're up against the power of another djinn? If you have to face Baal's power, are you sure that you'll come out unscathed?"

Zepar's face fell, it was as if Sinbad had just hit the mark on his challenge of Zepar's theory that the djinn was indestructible within their own dungeons.

Sakura stiffened when she felt the slightest bit of shuffling from the boy in her arms and looked down. "Geez, I said I'd leave things to you, what are you doing? If you do this then my death would be for nothing wouldn't it? How troublesome Sin."

Sinbad's was awestruck when he saw the supposedly dead Ja'far remove himself from Sakura's frozen form and stand up, spitting out blood.

"Ja'far?!"

"That's-That's-impossible, he's heart stopped!" Sakura exclaimed, still too shocked to be relieved just yet.

"I only appeared to be dead." Ja'far explained, "I opened a small hole in my chest that drastically weakened my heartbeat for a short time. Puling my body in a death-like state. It only lasts a few minutes. It's a technique I developed during my time as an assassin."

Sakura remembered a time as a genin when she had seen a similar technique. It was on her first B-rank mission that turned A-rank when she was a genin. The Hidden Mist ninja Zabuza, they were fighting against him when he was struck with needles that pierced into his neck, stopping his heartbeat but it was only temporary to make it appear as if he was dead. She wanted to berate herself for nothing thinking that it was possible Ja'far could do something similar but then again, she hadn't thought he would strike his heart. Speaking of which…

"Come here!" Sakura frowned, pulling Ja'far to her so that she could put her hand on his chest and heal the wound he had made while muttering to herself.

"Thank you Sakura." Ja'far smiled but that quickly vanished. "Now then." He looked up to the djinn who was also starring at him with shocked a shocked expression. "We would pass if one of us was dead correct? I was dead for a moment, so your condition was met. Masrur and I both passed your test. You can't go back on your word Zepar."

Smiling, Sinbad reverted from his djinn equip; looking back at Zepar, calmly speaking. "That's how it is right Zepar?"

The djinn did not seem to appreciate the snide smugness that Sinbad had. As if a signal had gone off, everyone started awakening from their unconscious state, Hinahoho, Mystras and Masrur all standing up looking dreary and wondering what kind of fight had taken place for the treasury to be in such a devastated state.

Masrur walked up behind Ja'far and Sinbad. Ja'far immediately went to inspect him just as Sakura finished healing him. "Are you alright? Does anything feel strange? Do you feel dizzy?"

Masrur looked up with a bit of a lost look on his face, "I'm fine really. You look much more injured than me Ja'far."

Ja'far smiled, relieved. "You don't remember anything that happened huh?"

Sakura put her hand over her heart, feeling its rapid beating as she watched the three; extreme relief was all she could feel.

Zepar watched from above, the entire group seemed relaxed now, but he was not, he was livid.

"What the hell is this?" Zepar asked darkly. "What do you think you're doing? You really think you can win like this?" the djinn trembled. "This isn't a joke. I won't accept it…" he looked at the group, glaring down. "I won't acknowledge you as king. You'll spend the rest of your lives here in this dungeon."

Sinbad said that he didn't mind battling against Zepar to get out of this dungeon instead, Ja'far was also more than willing to put up his household vessel and fight; Mystras and Hinahoho didn't have any quarrels about it either. Everyone was willing to stand beside Sinbad and fight this djinn. Sakura on the other hand, didn't think that this was a good decision. Despite her rage for the djinn; her instincts were telling her this was the worst decision.

" _My king, even with a metal vessel, he is still human. Djinns have been granted eternal life! He is making a mistake!" Stolas told her_

Sakura gasped; if that was true then she needed to stop them before they were all killed by this djinn. Serendine, who had been silently watching the scene unfold before her had now also stepped onto the platform.

"Wait Sinbad!" Serendine called, catching their attention. "It won't do us any good to carry on this dispute. Please put down your sword." The princess then turned up to the djinn, holding her hand across her chest. "Zepar, I apologise for our rudeness, could you please carry on with the trials?"

Sinbad was quick to protest but Serendine reminded him that Zepar had the power to control people and if he used that power to take control of Masrur again, or even Sinbad or Sakura, then no one would be able to survive this. They wouldn't conquer the dungeon and they wouldn't help Heliohapt either; which was the initial reason they came here.

"For the sake of the friends who risked their lives for you, bear with it." Serendine told Sinbad.

Sakura understood completely where Serendine was coming from on this matter, but if these trials were something like the previous two, she was worried. Zepar wanted to test the strength of Sinbad's subordinates, but Zepar didn't seem too happy now at the prospect of becoming one of Sinbad's metal vessels.

"Zepar, I beg of you. Please continue with the trials."

Zepar gave her a bored expression, "Don't wanna. I already told you, I won't acknowledge Sinbad as king. These trials were meant to test the strength of the subordinate of the one who would be king. If I refuse to acknowledge him then it's pointless to continue the trials."

Sakura's eyes snapped open, after a moment's contemplation, she decided that she would do what she honestly did not want to. "Then what about another king's candidate?"

Zepar and everyone else turned to the pinkette. "What did you say?"

Sakura put a hand on her chest, gesturing to herself. "What if I you give me a trial instead, to test if I am worthy of becoming your metal vessel holder? You seemed eager before."

"Sakura?" Sinbad looked at the pinkette, his eyes brows furrowed but she didn't respond to him, waiting for Zepar to answer.

"That's true." Zepar admitted, nodding his head. "However; you are on par with Sinbad and had expressed you had no interest in obtaining another djinn."

Sakura narrowed her eyes; Zepar wasn't one that could be easily fooled and he had unusual abilities. "That was before I saw what you were capable of. Your power isn't anything like my other djinns."

Zepar seemed to be contemplating, "That's all well and good, but if I gave you a trial-it would have to be against one of your comrades still to test your resolve. However, you are far too strong for the others and I will not have you up against Sinbad because I refuse to acknowledge him. You'd also fail the trial on purpose if I gave it you."

That really left Sakura as she attempted to figure out what to do now; Zepar was capable of seeing through all deception and she had reason to believe he could either read minds or get into them. When things seemed to be finished; Tamira, one of Serendine's attendants spoke.

"What if there was another king metal vessel here?" Tamira asked nervously.

"Well," Zepar put his hand under his chin, "I suppose if that were the case, then it would be possible to continue."

"If so I…." Tamira trailed, looking downward shutting her eyes as she spoke. "Would like to recommend Lady Serendine another king vessel!"

Sakura and Serendine looked to Tamira with surprise.

"I know I'm just an attendant and it's not my place to say something like this but is it really wrong for me to think of my princess when a chance like this appears right in front of us?" she asked, trembling. "Out of all of us here, the one who wants power is definitely the princess! When we were being hunted; all she could do was regret her own lack of strength! Our princess has worried and suffered great distress over her powerlessness. That's why I want her to get her hand on a metal vessel!"

'Powerless huh?' Sakura looked at Serendine. It seems that she had more in common with the princess than she thought; although it troubled Sakura to let anyone else get their hands on a djinn like Zepar. Both Serendine and Sinbad had an agenda; but Serendine's bordered on revenge which was where the problem came in for Sakura. A princess, exiled from her own country, wanting to take it back and with a metal vessel in her hands; with a power like Zepar's-she wasn't too sure about trusting that power to Serendine.

"Well then." Zepar crossed his arms, he addressed the princess. "Do you have the resolve to undergo the djinn's trials?"

Serendine looked up at Zepar, her eyes fierce. "That's not even a question worth asking. I can't just ignore the feelings of people who care so much about me. Zepar, I want power. To take back my home country and change myself who has been powerless to do anything!"

It was just as Sakura worried about. 'I knew it.'

Zepar looked weary, "You humans are intent on doing things your own way. Such interesting creatures." he gave an empty smile to Serendine. "Fine, I'll recognise you as a possible king's candidate however all of that was just big talk. I can't recognise you as king with some half-hearted trial. So my trial…."

Sakura and Serendine watched as Zepar pointed to the two pink haired females. "The two of you will have to fight now of course, but as I said, the interloper is far more powerful than any of you even without her metal vessels. Therefore I want you to compete in a different way. This will be my final trial."

Everyone watched patiently as Zepar announced what would be his final trial. Wondering exactly what kind of fight they were going to have. Sakura was definitely strong, stronger than Masrur and she had a sharp mind not to mention she had those unusual skills they haven't seen in this world before. It seemed to put Sakura at an advantage.

"For this trial, I will have you fight with words." Zepar said.

"With words?" Serendine asked.

"That's right, you'll use words as a weapon." Zepar pointed again to the two females. The good thing about this was that it didn't seem like they would be in any danger concerning their lives. "Don't get too relaxed now. You'll be using words to fight each other, which essentially makes this a mental fist fight."

Sakura felt that she had some experience with mental fist fights. There were plenty of people who had been mentally battling her. It had to be after all that she had been through since before she came to this world. When she battled against her best friend. When the person she loved left her heart broken and she chose to save him despite the path of darkness he was walking and battling her own weakness.

'And yet-I'm here now.' Sakura realised. 'So does that even count?'

"Attacking the very values that make up the foundation of their kingly attributes. Besides bringing their differences to the forefront, fighting without using strength in arms may result in a conclusion that leads some of you to part company with your master as you find that your ideals conflict with those of the king vessel you have risked flesh and blood for!"

Zepar held out both of his hands, a bright light erupted from Sakura and Serendine. A rukh fluttering from each girl's chest and into Zepar's hands in small spheres. A large golden scale appeared on the platform where the girls now stood facing one another. Zepar placed each of the rukh on one of the scales "This fight is a showdown between ideologies. In other words, a battle of the heart. Now let's get started."

A battle of the heart. Sinbad wondered about this trial, he felt a little more worried than he was about the other two. Sakura was a strong girl who had shown to be able to endure a lot. She didn't break when she was a slave and Madaura was torturing her. She'd go far for him, despite her own wellbeing. It was a bit disheartening.

"My question for the king vessels." Zepar began, while the two stared at one another. "If you were awarded the metal vessel. How would you use it?"

Sakura responded first, barely giving it a thought. "I would use the power to help Sinbad change the world. To achieve his goal of creating his own country. I've seen this world and its injustices. Sinbad wishes to create a world free of conflict and I will do whatever it takes to help him achieve that goal."

Zepar was smiling, looking back to Serendine. "Well Serendine, that's her side. What do you have to say to that?"

"I can empathize with those ideals." Serendine told Sakura, looking her right in her eyes. "And I have no desire to stand in the way of those ideals but there is no substance to your words. Like a dream where your feet never touch the ground."

Sakura clenched her fists in response.

"What is a perfect world? A world without poverty? War? Or complete equality with no countries, no races and no discrimination? The world you've mentioned can't even be put into words, it's too vague."

"That's how it may seem to you, but there are many who have agreed with Sinbad's ideals." Sakura stated.

"That's what makes it even more disingenuous. Everyone has faced some sort of injustice and wishes that they could change something about the world. That's why everyone agrees with them."

"Of course, it's natural for people to have that sort of reaction" Sakura stated, frowning now. Serendine definitely wasn't holding back. "Sinbad's ideals aren't vague, they are just various which makes it seems so. A perfect world doesn't exist-I know that and you can call it taking advantage of circumstances and benefiting from the fact that everyone wishes for some version of an ideal world. But Sinbad has been working towards his goal of this ideal world and I believe that he will create it. No matter what you are going to say to argue and attempt to sway me. That scale is not going to move, so it won't matter how logical your comeback is because I honestly would have already thought it myself."

Serendine could see the raw honesty on Sakura' face when she said that. She clearly believed in Sinbad's ideals, perhaps stronger than anyone else and that would make this trial harder. Sakura made it clear that her heart was not going to be easy to sway and tip those scales but that didn't mean that she would surrender either.

Zepar seemed intrigued now. "Well Serendine, how would you use this power?"

"I would use it for the sake of my country only." Serendine answered swiftly.

"I figured as much." Sakura said, putting her hands on her hips. "You're a princess after all and it's only natural that you would want to protect the country that you were literally born to lead."

"Thank you for understanding and not questioning my motives." Serendine nodded her head to Sakura as a sign of respect, though the pinkette knew not to drop her guard. "Tell me Sakura, how is founding a country going to work as a means to change the world? You say that you won't sway, so help me understand this."

Sakura folded her arms, as though the question did not faze her. "You should know this, as a leader of a country, Sinbad would be able to negotiate with other countries and influence their actions."

Ja'far, Sinbad, Hinahoho, Mystras, Drakon, Sahel and Tamar were watching the trial from a distance where they were still within an ear shot. Both seemed to have powerful resolves; it was anyone's guess who was going to win this.

"She sure is loyal to you huh Sinbad." Drakon stated.

Sinbad smiled proudly, he nodded. "She has been from the beginning."

'I just hope Serendine doesn't figure out just how loyal.' Ja'far thought, keeping quiet. 'Or she might figure out a way to use that against Sakura'

"If that's the case isn't being a merchant enough?" Serendine asked back. "Sindria is a prominent trading company. You were even able to eliminate the Mariadel Company and absorb their resources. The company has more assets than it could ever need and it's made alliances with other countries."

"Yes," Sakura agreed. "But it's easier to achieve what Sinbad is striving towards as a country. As a royal, you should realise this. A trading company will not have the same symbolic aspirations as a country would."

"Do you really understand what a country is then?" Serendine's voice grew harder. "You cannot only think of a country as a vessel for diplomacy. There are even more concerns such as the population, production, whether it will be a monarchy or republic. Currently the trading company is made up of friends and allies but if a country was made there would only be citizens."

Sinbad seemed to be taking in more of what Serendine was saying than Sakura. He found that there was some truth to what she was saying. He himself felt as if he was wavering when Serendine spoke and then Sakura would always have some way to counter.

"Do know how difficult it is to keep domestic affairs stable and protect the livelihood of a countries citizens? Diplomacy has to come second. Wouldn't it be a king's role to protect is citizens and not go to change the world?"

"What would you do then?" Sakura asked, "If you somehow managed to take back your country."

"I would use the power to protect my country. I would stabilize our domestic affairs and if I had the extra power, I would try to improve our foreign policy but that's just a natural part of being a leader. Sinbad is strong and without trying he attracts people to him and he has the resourcefulness to be a successful leader, but because of those qualities he is unsuited to be a king."

"What?" Sinbad asked in disbelief. "How can you say I'm not suited to be a king?"

"You just said that Sin has the resourcefulness to be a leader, so why…?" Ja'far asked attempting to understand the logic behind Serendine's words.

"Because, a king doesn't need to be a leader. If a king holds all power and commands all those around him, that doesn't prove that he has exceeded what it means to be king, what would just make him a dictator." Serendine explained, looking up to the group. "A king is surrounded by government officials, people in a variety of official positions. So even though the king has the right to decide how his country is run, his decisions aren't based on the knowledge of a single person alone. It's just like when Sinbad wasn't around and everyone was able to come up together with solutions."

"If that's the case; then what is the true purpose of a king?" Sakura asked.

Serendine was stating the truth in ways that she believed would make Sakura waver her own beliefs towards Sinbad. It was obvious that she believed Sakura's weak point would be creating doubt on the belief and ideal of Sinbad that she held onto so strongly. However, Serendine didn't know Sakura's past had put her through situations like this before.

"A king's true purpose, is to be 'A Royal Symbol'." Serendine stated, looking back to Sakura now, her eyes heavily guarded. "It's the same with the company. Sindria has been able to gain the trust of all its customers because it has the living legend Sinbad leading it. That's how countries work too. A king fulfils his duty as king by reigning from his throne and earning the respect and love of the people. Such a country would be acknowledged by other countries as superior and it would be trusted."

Serendine held a hand over her chest where her heart lied. "A good king isn't usually a good leader. It's enough that a king simply exists. The most important quality of a king-is blood."

Sinbad and his companions all went rigid, as Serendine continued to tell them that it did not matter what kind of person became king. A royal bloodline is necessary for the longevity of a country.

"Blood connects the country with its people and its bond that solidifies a country's strength. The blood that flows through the veins of royal exist for the sake of their country and thousands of its citizens. It's not true only for Parthevia but for Heliohapt as well. Blood has absolute power."

Everyone seemed to be letting Serendine's words sink in deep within them. If it had been them up here, without a doubt the scales would have started to move by now and yet on Sakura's ends they did not flicker.

"You say that blood connects a county and yet that was what had torn your country apart wasn't it?" Sakura countered.

Serendine's eyes widened, "What?"

"You said a king fulfils his duty by earning the respect and love of the people, but how can you do that when you're the daughter of the former king whose lead Parthevia into such a devastated state That it's people has become obsessed with winning a war because that is the only way they can survive?" Sakura took a step forward, holding out arms.

Sinbad frowned. Was Sakura going to tell Serendine about the situation in Parthevia? "Crap, what is she doing?"

"You want to use this power to take back your country and you made declarations about how you would use this power to better your country. Yet, did you even consider whether or not your countries going to want you? We've already been told that Parthevia has started recovering."

Serendine had told Sakura everything about what had happened back in Parthevia when she fled and, although it was a bit underhanded; she was going to use it to her advantage.

"Don't be so naive!" exclaimed Serendine. "That ceasefire is just to cover up what's really happening?"

Ja'far asked what Serendine meant and Sahel explained to the group that the leaders of Parthevia actually understood what was happening concerning Parthevia national power and that they were facing ruin. However it was general Barbarossa and a handful of nobles that wanted the country to continue with their involvement in the war despite its weakening condition. It was only after the king's death that Barbarossa entered the ceasefire.

"You see," Serendine said, almost pleadingly at Sakura. "It was all that man's fault; that's why I must take back my country and let the people see the truth."

"But how are you going to do that?" Sakura asked, keeping her eyes sharp. "If you take back the throne, how can you show the people that you're not going to make the same mistakes as your father? That general is bound to have a lot of supporters by now. So even if you do take him down; those other higher ups that support him-that you yourself said have influence on a king's decision. How do you know they won't turn the countries citizens against you?"

"Like I said before, I have the blood of a royal."

"Where I come from; blood doesn't matter. A new leader is chosen from amongst the people-someone who has distinguished themselves-not by using a name as a crutch. They have the respect and support not only of their people but of leaders in other countries. That is how leadership works where I come from!"

Serendine frowned, speaking louder this time. "But that isn't how it works here! It's not where you come from so you can't understand!"

For the first time since the trial began, the scales shook. Everyone's heads turned upward, wondering whose heart was beginning to bare down the weight of their opponents words. Serendine's statement managed to hit a soft spot in Sakura's heart and now-after vigorously searching and chipping away-Serendine knew exactly where to strike.

Peering back up at the platform, she addressed him. "Sinbad, didn't you decide to take action because you saw the wretched conditions of Parthevia? If so then isn't the place you should save, be Parthevia? Your homeland?"

Sinbad appeared to be rendered speechless. Serendine may have been aiming to effect Sakura, but Sinbad was the one she was addressing so often and it made him realise something. He did not know certain things about Sakura. He did not know where she actually came from; who she really was and she did not ever show any signs of wanting him to know….

"Sakura. You said that you would not be swayed in your resolve for Sinbad's dream."

Sakura nodded, "That's right."

"Then are you really willing to do anything, to allow him to achieve it?"

"Yes." Sakura confirmed.

"Then would you give him to me?"

…

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…

"WHAT" Everyone shouted from above on the platform; starring down at Serendine and a speechless Sakura. Zepar, seemed thoroughly amused and waiting for a continuation of his trial.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, taken aback. She suddenly seemed to become more aware of how beautiful the princess was and a tickle of insecurity was slithering into the cracks of her heart. Like a toxin, about to spread and destroy everything from within.

"If Sinbad helps me take back Parthevia, then that solves the problem of regaining the people's trust. If he does this, then he gets a country and can start working towards his goal of changing the world."

"Hold on!" Sinbad interjected, flustered as well. "You just said blood was important and I'm not royalty so how can I become king?"

Serendine pointed to herself. "You won't but I will."

Then Sakura understood what Serendine was suggesting and her heart seemed to shake as much as the scales now were.

"I will take the throne, but all power will go to Sinbad-if he becomes my husband."

…

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…

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Ja'far and Mystras were quickly attempting to figure out what exactly Sinbad had done to let Serendine suggest something like this.

"What did you do to give her that idea!?" Ja'far asked, grabbing Sinbad by his collar and viciously shaking him.

"Nothing! I swear!" Sinbad cried out, trying to pry Ja'far from him. He looked back to the trial; the scales were shaking as if there was a tremor.

"Think about it Sakura!" Serendine threw her hand out, "You believe that Sinbad can become king and I say he cannot. Why not make it easier for him; by allowing him to marry into royalty? I will use the power of my metal vessel to restore my royal authority and Sinbad can use that as my husband. He will have a country without needing to go through the long process of creating one." Serendine continued. Sakura's eyes were as wide as they could go; the scales shaking as if it were about to fall over. "This doesn't mean you have to give him up of course. Sinbad clearly cares for you more than he ever will for me but if you allow him to marry me, then you will be helping Sinbad achieve his goals. He can use me as a stepping stone to make his perfect world a reality." Then, she walked up to the pink haired ninja, grasping both of Sakura's shoulders. Looking at her face, Sakura saw the determination and nothing but truth shining strongly in her eyes looking straight into her own. "Sakura! If you give up Sinbad, he will get everything he wants! "

Then on Sakura's side; the scale tilted, continued for a second until it had dropped completely.

Sinbad, Ja'far, Mystras, Masrur, Hinahoho, Sahel and Tamira stared at the scales, completely struck as Sakura fell to her knees. Seeing the scale, once equal and now titling.

"Your heart has wavered. Sakura loses. I have to admit, I'm surprised." Zepar said, arms folded. He turned to Serendine. "Serendine, I will acknowledge you as my king vessel as promised. Although with you backing Sinbad, it seems like I'll still end up being used by him."

Serendine nodded, turning away from Sakura but not before taking once last glance at her. There was something amiss in the princess's eyes as he looked at the down casted pinkette. Her own heart felt heavy all of a sudden and she was glad that Zepar had removed the magic scales or it might have shown and balanced them out again.

Zepar averted his gaze. "I'm sure you all detest me for what I've done but let me tell this. I know what it's like to live in a world where a single great king rules over everything. However, no matter how great a leader you are, the betrayal of one's allies can lead to the death of that king and the destruction of the world. I never want that to happen again." He looked down as if in remorse. "A king must live a lonely existence, I want all of you to become true allies that protect the one you follow and support him from behind. That's my one true wish."

Zepar's words seemed to touch everyone, including Sakura as she listened to him give his final apology before vanishing into white and entering Serendine's sword, now becoming a metal vessel.

Sakura heard shuffling around her, no doubt everyone preparing to finally leave the dungeon but she stayed in place. Staring blankly at her hands on the cracked stone beneath her. Her mind blocking out the voices of her djinns that attempted to call to her, break her from a trance. A warm hand fell over hers, she didn't need to look up to know whose it was.

Sinbad didn't have to wait long for Sakura to take his hand and let him lead her towards one of the two magic circles. Ja'far, Mystras, Hinahoho and Masrur were in one, waiting for them while Serendine, Drakon, Sahel and Tamira took another.

* * *

On their way out of the dungeon, Sakura and Sinbad sat a little ways from the rest of their friends. Hidden behind the few giant bags of treasure which was working as a partition. Hinahoho had fallen asleep and was using the bags to rest again, Masrur was on top of them admiring the view from above, Mystras had pressed up against the magic circle's barrier while they left the dungeon and Ja'far was discreetly glancing in the direction of Sakura and Sinbad.

Sakura had her legs tucked up, her chin resting felt Sinbad nudge her shoulder; she didn't respond other than cover her face in her arms. "Sakura."

Sinbad's voice was in a soft whisper; he ran his fingers through her short locks. "Look at me."

Slowly; she lifted her head. Starring at him with a passive expression. "I'm sorry."

That wasn't exactly the response he was expecting. "Sakura…"

"I couldn't do it." Sakura murmured, her voice barely audible. A long tear slipped down her cheek. "I said I would do anything for you, to realise your dream but in the end she won. She won because I was selfish…I couldn't even pretend to fathom the idea of sharing you with someone else. My heart wavered; it felt like I was trapped under a heavy stone that I couldn't lift." Sakura looked down at her knees, ashamed. She put her hand over her chest. "It hurts when you have someone in your heart, but you can't have in your arms."

Her mind forcibly took her to the night she had confessed her feelings to Sasuke; the night he had left the village, the night she failed to stop him. She had cried for so long until she had enough and decided that she would get stronger to bring him back. She realised that it was no longer possible, not just because she couldn't go back but because of him. She loved Sinbad and she did not want to leave him.

"I'm hurt as well you know." Sinbad said suddenly, pulling away from her. Sakura met his eyes, waiting for the inevitable explanation. "You actually believed that I would have everything I wanted if you gave me up?"

Sakura looked away, shame filling her but at the same time there was a trickle of belief that still dwelled in her. It wasn't a battle of truth she and Serendine were having before, it was a battle of endurance of the heart. Whose beliefs were so strong that they could not be shaken even if the honest truth in opposition to those beliefs were thrown at them and she believed Serendine.

"I don't think that Serendine was wrong." Sakura admitted quietly, linking her fingers together. "She made a fair point. If we helped her take back her country and she married you…" Sakura choked back the tears. "Then you would-

"Stop. Did you already forget?" Sinbad moved so that he was sitting in front of Sakura. "I told you before didn't I, that day you came back?"

When he took her hand to place it over his chest where she could feel his heartbeat, it came back.

" _But they're not the ones who are able to handle this!"_

 _There were three heavy footsteps followed by a tight hand grasping her shoulder to spin her back around, facing Sinbad once again. He took the hand from her shoulder, quickly snatching up Sakura's hand and placing it centre left of his chest. Where Sakura felt a rapid but soft pater._

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

 _.._

" _Your appearance, your abilities, your djinns, your strange power; none of that matters. You don't have to use any of it to help the company or me. As long as you remain where I can see you-that's all I care about." Sinbad stated, a light blush dusting his cheeks in turn._

" _I know I'm not your ideal, I'm selfish, greedy, concerted, have bad habits and I know you have a whole long list but even so I want you to stay with me. I don't want you to abandon me." He took a breath. "In return for all of that; I'll always forgive you no matter what, I'll sacrifice for you, I'll respect you, I'll stay committed to you, and I'll protect you,"_

Sakura's hand clenched over the material around Sinbad's chest.

"After saying all that, you actually thought that I would agree with Serendine's offer?" Sinbad asked, his face pleading.

"But if it were to help you-

Sinbad cut her off again. "What are you saying? Do you honestly believe that I won't be able to do this with you? Have you forgotten that it was you who stood by? That supported me?" he turned her head, making her look at him. "Is your faith in yourself really so weak? Your faith…in me?"

Sakura shook her head immediately. "Of course not, but what if someday…I do something like that again?"

" _Where I come from; blood doesn't matter. A new leader is chosen from amongst the people-someone who has distinguished themselves-not by using a name as a crutch. They have the respect and support not only of their people but of leaders in other countries. That is how leadership works where I come from!"_

 _Serendine frowned, speaking louder this time. "But that isn't how it works here! It's not where you come from! So you can't understand."_

She had gotten swept up in the hype of the match; thinking that she had the right to mention her village as if it was a part of this world as it if belonged; as if she belonged. Serendine gave her a harsh awakening to the truth. No matter how much time passes, she will always be 'the interloper'. She could not forget that. Even if she decided to stay here, this world would never truly be hers and where would that leave her with Sinbad?

"I still don't know how this world works, but I know I want to be in it with you." Sakura admitted quietly, she sniffed softly. Looking up at Sinbad, her eyes shining sadly with glistening tears. "And I don't want just half of you."

Sinbad seemed taken aback, but he felt as though he was swelling with an overwhelming flow of happiness. His heart beating in his chest; he smiled. Driven speechless for a good reason. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"And you call me an idiot. Did you already forget?" Sinbad asked, snickering and sniffing at the same time. "You already have all of me. All of me."

"Sinbad…." Sakura smiled against Sinbad's shoulder, feeling content once again. Although it might have been because Sinbad was now bearing the weight of her pain in his own heart.

'Sakura, you don't want half of me but why do I feel like you're only giving me half of you?'

 **Hope that you liked this chapter, I honestly had a bit of trouble with it hence why it took some time to post.**

 **REVIEW PLEASE**


	32. The end of conflict?

**Hello everyone. Well this chapter marks Through the Looking Glass being published for over a year now-granted I am a few days overdue, but I was working on another assignment and exams are coming up soon again which means that I probably won't be updating anything until later in November. I hope you really, really, really enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Both factions of the royal family were waiting, anxiously and impatiently, for Sinbad and his comrades to return and for the Royal Tomb to be returned to its former state. Nearly more than an hour later; the dungeon started to vanish before their eyes. Sinking beneath the sand as quickly as it had emerged, the ground swallowing it whole. Through the cloud of dust that was created, emerged the group that had been sent to remove the dungeon. They had a bit of a rough landing and their entrance was less than graceful, getting sand in their mouths and accidently tripping and stepping over one another, but none the less they were unharmed.

Sinbad emerged, Sakura beside him and the rest of his friends all gathered behind him, covered from head to toe in sand.

"We've conquered the dungeon and returned the royal tomb as promised. Now the rest is up to all of you, Heliohapt Royal family."

While Sinbad was addressing the royals of Heliohapt, Sakura had the feeling of eyes trailing behind her.

Sakura glanced up at Serendine after realising that the Parthevia princess had been watching her for quite some time. She appeared calm and collected, but there was great distraught in her eyes when she looked at Sakura.

" _Perhaps guilt for what happened in the dungeon." Stolas suggested_

" _She humiliated our king by playing on her emotions; she should be more than just guilty with her actions but appalled!" exclaimed Beleth_

'Enough.' Sakura silenced her djinns.

Sakura looked up to Serendine, the action caused the princess to jolt a little. Sakura gave a big grin in return, reassurance beaming from her and Serendine couldn't help but to return the smile, feeling herself become a little lighter.

'Thank goodness.' Serendine thought, relieved, her face felt warm but her heart was beating steadily.

* * *

The royal tomb, was a magnificent building, equivalent to the palace. With four men sitting on block chairs, carved in the front of the building, holding staffs crossed over their chests. The inside was dark and because of its lack of visitors there were no torches lit in advance, of course the royal tomb had previously been a dungeon so there wasn't much room to argue. The hallway on the inside was lined up with statues of people standing against the walls. Narmes explained to them that it was the largest complex of royal tombs in the world as well as the pride of Heliohapt. The effort to build a place like this would make anyone understand how vital a king was to this country.

"From the scale of the structure. You can see that Heliohapt is a wealthy country." Ja'far said.

Narmes face fell, shaking his head sadly. "I wish that were the case but our countries present condition is pretty desolate."

Armakan explained that structures like the royal tombs were build decades ago and that Heliohapt no longer had the power it once did. Despite the outstanding technology of the country, it was still mostly desert. It was obvious that they were going to need to rely on imported goods. From a global standpoint, Heliohapt was just a small country.

"We must lead Heliohapt down the road to prosperity. That is the mission of those who are entrusted with its future."

Sakura smiled at Armakan; who in turn seemed taken aback. "It's clear you care a great deal for your country."

"Hmph." Patra scoffed, her arms crossed and an arrogant smirk on her face. "You think opening our borders will make this country prosper? This is why we can't leave ruling to inexperienced youth's."

"I wouldn't say King Armakan's vision for this country pertains to any inexperience he has as a ruler." Sakura said, her tone clipped and sharp but her face remained passive as to hide any readings for animosity. "Adapting to change is the way in which the world works. Leaders change the rules and policies of those before them, often to suite the trends of this time period so that they can function and prosper. If you are not willing to move forward and integrate to new ideas; then you will be left behind while everyone else is moving forward. Alliances with other countries offer not only new opportunities for trade and expansion but also fosters bonds and makes a country seem stronger, protecting them."

Patra looked at Sakura, a frown forming on her face. Unlike the pinkette, she didn't feel the need to mask her hostility towards her verbal opponent. "Or it endangers them further! The Reim Empire is the biggest threat to our country. If they attacked us, we'd be helpless to defend ourselves. The only reason we've been overlooked before is because we're a small country. If we start diplomacy with other countries, we will only draw attention to ourselves. We'd just be giving them an excuse to attack our country!"

"You'd still be vulnerable; if what you're saying is true. A country that doesn't progress can make itself a target as well, because other countries will think of it as inferior and may seek its resources knowing that they are weak."

Patra glared at Sakura before turning to Armakan and his faction. Armakan seemed to be listening carefully to Sakura's words, despite his eyes being closed, he wasn't turning away from her. Sinbad may have had a radiance that engulfed everyone he met, but Sakura had an unusual captivation that brought attention to her. For better or worse; it was as if you were told she was different.

"Don't tell me you are actually listening to this girl! Are you willing to risk the danger of getting our country mixed up in all that just to realise your ideals?"

"I won't deny that an attack is possible, but we should settle things by starting discussions with Reim."

"Oh, you want to discuss things with an empire that spends all its time at war? How optimistic." Gafra sneered.

Patra gave a dark smile, lifting her chin high. "It won't matter, in a few hours, Sharrkan will be the one sitting on the throne."

The former king's faction then left, Sharrkan being carried behind them on his sedan. Sakura did not miss the look on his face, his eyes sad and worried. Armakan and his faction followed as well through the tomb. When it was only the Sindria group that remained, Serendine told them that this kind of conflict happens in every country. There were also various factions in Parthevia, with conflicting policies. Because the military had seized power now, the policies were now lead by them. Sahel told them that Serendine had a younger brother and that if the military hadn't actually seized control then the two might have found themselves in a similar power struggle.

"You know, it's ironic but we were able to avoid that conflict because things turned out like this." Serendine clutched her arm, starring at the ground. "But it's frustrating. Thinking about a boy the same age as my brother, being used as a pawn in a power struggle…it pains me."

Sakura was the first to continue on the way through the Royal Tomb, a more determined step in her stride. "I agree with you Serendine, children should not be used as tools of their parents will."

* * *

The tomb's size was not a trick meant to fool strangers by its outward appearance. It was a maze, full of different turns, clearly meant as a defence to keep intruders from entering without permission. The actual resting place of the previous king was a large room, empty with a staircase in the middle of the room leading up to a single sarcophagus.

"Now…to confirm what's carved on the sarcophagus." Narmes, nervously and hesitantly moved his lantern over the sarcophagus after everyone was gathered around. The air grew thick as the lamp shone.

"What?!" Narmes exclaimed when he saw what was written on the sarcophagus-or what was supposed to be written-instead there was nothing but a smooth surface of fine stone used to carve the box.

Ja'far frowned, "They said the final words of the former king naming his successor would be on the sarcophagus right?"

Sinbad nodded, "Yeah…"

"There's nothing written here!?"

That had caused an immediate rush of adrenaline, Gafra ordered everyone to start looking for anything written on the sarcophagus; however no matter which side they looked, there was nothing carved.

"It's nowhere on the outside." Sakura stated, crossing her arms. This definitely didn't' bode well for anyone.

Mystras then pointed, "We didn't check the inside."

Sakura wasn't too sure about defiling a man's tomb by looking inside-that and she really did not like the prospect of looking at a dead body that had been down here beyond the point of decay.

"Oh-uh-uh." Sakura shook her head.

Mystras looked at her pleadingly, "Please Sakura."

"Fine." Sakura caved, helping Mystras push the top open, she stopped when she caught sight of the top half of the former king. She saw that he had actually been preserved, his body wrapped and dressed finely in robes cleaner than some civilians, but she didn't take too long to gawk because she noticed something resting on top of his chest. A scroll.

"There's something in here." Mystras pointed to everyone.

They put the top back on straight after taking the scroll out. Sakura shivered and Serendine had to raise an eyebrow at the girl who had inspected a dead body immediately after death. As she didn't seem to have a problem then.

"I can't take the smell." Sakura told her, shrugging. When she was twelve she had offered to remain in the autopsy ward to inspect a body that had been burnt beyond recognition. She hadn't been able to stop smelling burnt flesh for nearly three days after that.

Unwrapping the scroll, Armakan handed the scroll to Sakura who took a step back surprised. "Read it."

Sakura pointed to herself in confusion, "Why me?"

Armakan didn't respond and just held it out to her. "Please."

Sakura took it gently, pulling on the string that held it together and unrolling it. _**"I am Atenkumen. This is my final will and testament. This is a deviation from the custom of carving one's will into the sarcophagus, a custom established by generations of kings."**_ Sakura took a breath before she continued, _**"Listen carefully, all those of the royal family. I am personally putting an end to this royal custom. I will not choose the next king. The ones to choose the next king will be you. Armakan. Sharrkan. As the two princes of Heliohapt, you must work together to decide who will be the next king."**_

Patra immediately went and roughly grabbed the scroll, being the first to overcome her shocked state, although she was still horrified. Her eyes darted over the parchment wide and maddening. "This cannot be!"

Narmes was rubbing his head, as if he had been hit. "Nothing like this has happened fore, a long standing custom broken…"

Sakura shrugged, "Perhaps the former king wasn't as old fashioned as everyone presumed."

" _They say men achieve wisdom before death."_ Stolas told her

'Too bad they need to die right after achieving it.' Sakura thought, 'By the time you gain wisdom it fades.'

Now trembling, Patra had gone from shocked to having a maddening look in her eyes. "There's no way the former king would do that right? Sharrkan's name was supposed to be carved into his sarcophagus wasn't it!?"

Sharrkan's visibly jumped when his mother's glare fell on him. "Sharrkan, you said so didn't you? You said you would become the next king? Didn't you tell us that?" The former first queen appeared to be on the breaking point. Red lines glaring in her eyes. "ANSWER ME SHARRKAN."

The younger prince of Heliohapt was unable to hide the fear as he looked away from his mother. Then Patra came to realise what had happened.

"You deceived me…is that it?" Patra said, lingering towards her son. "Even though you're just a puppet!"

Only managing to grab Sharrkan's wrist for a second, before it was snatched away and the boy was snatched away. "Lady Patra; calm yourself please. Your son's not some tool for you to vent your anger on."

The queen glared at the pinkette, now holding her son protectively in her arms. Sharrkan was surprised when his feet left the ground and he was being held. Sakura's embrace was gentle but secure.

"How dare you!" Patra raised her hand but stopped abruptly when she heard a loud cracking and saw the stone beneath Sakura's one foot broken apart. With the glare that Sakura gave and the discrete warning with her display of strength, the former queen didn't attempt to get closer to the pinkette. Narmes came up behind Patra in an attempt to calm her but she would have none of that.

"WE'RE ONLY HERE BECEAUSE SHARRKAN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE KING." Patra screamed, her voice shrill and cold. "THAT IS WHY WE HIRED THESE OUTSIDERS. WE SHOULD HAVE JUST KEPT USING THE DUNGEON AND THE CURSE TO DRAG ARMAKAN FROM THE THRONE."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, looking to Armakan as he came up behind his step mother. "So it was you after all. The mysterious deaths that lead to rumours of a curse. Even though you're the Dowager queen, you've agitated our citizens and thrown our country into chaos. That is unforgivable."

"Isn't that your fault Armakan?" Patra countered, her frustration dripping in beads of sweat on her face. "We wouldn't have used such methods if you hadn't advocated internal diplomacy. The last thing our nation needs is to encourage negative attention from the Reim Empire. What we did was necessary to protect this country."

Then Armakan stated something that had the entire room freeze. "You say that, but you actually belong to the New Reim Faction don't you?"

The New Reim Faction was a group that aimed to develop a close relation with Reim in order to avoid conflict and ensure safety.

"What's wrong with that?' Patra asked, screeching. "Without doing so, surviving all of these years would have been impossible. Our small nation is no match for that huge empire! Through carefully monitoring Reim's mood and playing by their rules. We have been able to protect this country!" the Dowager queen's face twisted as she looked at Armakan with disgust and hatred. "That is the duty of the royal family. We can't let centuries of Heliohapt traditions end like this!"

Names then countered, saying that they also needed to free themselves from Reim's control but Gafra said that all that would do is encourage Reim to invade their country.

"This is madness," Hinahoho said.

"This is politics." Serendine stated, hands on her hips. Sakura snickered, continuing to run her hand through Sharrkan's head as he gazed between his brother and mother.

"Our people are at their limits! Please take their future into consideration!"

"That would be too naïve! Our people may be temporarily impoverished but it's in exchange to ensure the existence of our country continues."

As the internal conflict took place right before their eyes, Sakura walked up to Sinbad and leaned towards him. "You want to step in now or should I?"

"I got it."

Sinbad decided to finally step in, taking a deep breath before allowing his voice to overthrow everyone else's arguing. "HOLD ON A MINUTE."

Everyone went silent, turning to the purple haired teen. "I can solve your problem…no," Sinbad smirked, his arms crossed. "The Seven Seas Alliance can!"

There was confusion amongst other things after Sinbad's bold declaration. Though not many were understanding his declaration. They did not know how Sinbad expected to resolve the dispute between choosing the next king when the two factions were opposing one another. Sinbad pointed to them that both factions were thinking about what was best for their country's future and both sides were right but the issues wasn't the two factions; it was the Reim Empire itself. The Reim Empire was the biggest threat to Heliohapt's survival.

"This country has carried on by monitoring Reim's moods and obeying their orders, why?" Sinbad asked, "Because this country doesn't have the power to defy Reim. You would either have to gain power or borrow it from somewhere else. All me, Sinbad the Dungeon conqueror, to protect you with my power that rivals Reim's."

Patra glared at Sinbad, "Don't be ridiculous! Alliance? Power to stand up to Reim? There's no way you could do any of that!"

Sakura smiled; she knew that they weren't going to believe Sinbad's claims at first-no one usually did. He was going to have to prove it to them, that his claims to form an alliance with Heliohapt was true and that he did have the power to protect Heliohapt.

* * *

' _He is going to show off again isn't he?"_ Sitri stated more than asked and Sakura confirmed that it was exactly what he was about to do.

Everyone had left the Royal Tomb, to be taken to the outskirts of Heliohapt, a fair distance where they were still able to see the country, but far enough so that Sinbad wouldn't accidently destroy the country with his metal vessel's power. They all now stood in the desert, with nothing lined up for miles.

"Sin, as far from the city as we are, please still try to use a little restraint." Ja'far told Sinbad; who was in Baal's djinn equip.

"What are you saying Ja'far?" Sinbad grinned, "Of course I'm giving it all I've got."

Holding out his sword to the distance, Sinbad unleashed Baal's power. The blast of his Bararaq Saiqa, cut through the desert, the lightning had everyone's hairs at the back of their necks standing and the results was a gaping dark hole that went so far they couldn't see the end of it.

"Great, you made chasm." Sakura commented dryly; she had almost forgotten just how powerful the metal vessels were. Even though they were so far from Heliohapt, if Sinbad had moved his attack any further to the right, he would have ended up getting a piece of the country in his attack. Then she looked at the royal family and their subordinates, who were not only awestruck, but trembling with terror.

"That is not my only metal vessel." Sinbad said, grasping Valefor's necklace and transforming into his second djinn equip. Mystras and Ja'far attempted to stop him but he had already taken to the skies.

"Each metal vessel is different." Sinbad explained, he held out his hands to unleash his next display of power. "There's a multitude of ways to use them as well, however that depends on the choices you make. If you misuse them…"

There was a crackling noise heard all around them as their hot desert air turned cool, a breeze washing over everyone as they stared at the giant ice shards that were now planted all over the desert sands.

"You can instantly cover an entire desert in ice."

Sinbad clearly wanted to emphasise on the strength that the metal vessels held, he said that if he wanted to invade Heliohapt he could have done so already on his own. The power of a metal vessel was enough to destroy a country overnight. After he was certain he had made his point, Sinbad reverted his djinn equip.

"And I'm not the only one who wields this power." Sinbad said to a horrified queen Dowager and her vizier. "Most of the national leaders of the Seven Seas Alliance have their own metal vessels and rumours are that there are more being used around the world."

Ja'far then added, "Our master is the first multiple dungeon conqueror in the world and his partner," the boy directed their attention to Sakura. "Is the second; no one rivals their strength. In addition, now one of our allies Princess Serendine of Parthevia, has also conquered a dungeon and has a metal vessel."

"Listen, our only desire is to protect global balance." Sinbad swore, "In order to do so, we need your cooperation. To build the world as it should be and to prevent this immense power from throwing everything into chaos. We must become a power that protects humanity."

Crossing his arms with his sword in his hand still, Sinbad spoke firmly. "I am Sinbad. I am the head of the Sindria Trading Company and the Leader of the Seven Seas Alliance, I have the determination…"

It seemed that royal members of Heliohapt were struck speechless; but for the first time, both opposing factions had come to understand just how great Sinbad's power was.

"Heliohapt will join your Seven Seas Alliance. I want you to lend this country your strength." Armakan said, his eyebrows furrowed with frustration. He had realised just how naïve and narrow minded his country's view of the world had been and it was not easy when this was how you discovered something like that. Sinbad had just opened his eyes with a power far greater than anything he had witness before. Along with that, this demonstration of power had planted a seed of longing within Armakan. He suddenly wished that he had been the one to enter than dungeon, to gain that power, just like them.

He looked at Sinbad and Sakura; talking happily together over their achievement of having Heliohapt join their alliance. They seemed in perfect sync, which wasn't his first impression of the two when he had met them. Sinbad had continuously referred to Sakura as his partner

Gafra was still persistent and attempted a last minute to resist, he turned to Patra. Although it was obvious to everyone he was desperate and grasping at straws in vein. "Lady Patra, what are we doing?! We can't let them intervene! We've come so far, just one small step from the throne!"

When Patra spoke, she kept her head down, her voice was trembling like the rest of her body. "It's pointless…We're not match for a power like that. Whether we make Reim our enemy or him our enemy, it's all the same…" Patra held up her hands in defeat. "There's no choice but to accept our fate."

The result at the end of that day, had the former king's faction surrendering and being arrested for their crimes against the country, thanks to the queens confessing. Sinbad had also been given a document of Heliohapt's trading agreement, but there was still one more matter that needed to be settled them. There was still the unsettled matter of the former king's will.

"Both my younger brother and I must decide together, and fortunately those who would interfere are gone." Armakan turned to his brother, Sharrkan held his staff tightly with a disconcerted expression.

"What will you do? Sharrkan."

When the boy didn't respond, Sakura came over to him; putting a comforting hand on his shoulder and turning him to look at her. "You don't have to worry I promise; just tell the truth."

Sharrkan self an unusual warmth and turned back to his brother and his followers. "I think the one who should be king…is my brother. I know I'm not fit for such an important role. Since I've always just done what mother told me..."

Armakan seemed to come to his own realisation. "This is what you intended from the start? Now that I can think about it calmly. It was strange that you say such a thing when your freedom of speech so always restricted by the former king's faction. Foolish little brother. It was all too late."

Sakura saw Sharrkan's face sadden; he clearly knew this from the beginning. The conflict of this country had resulted in innocent deaths from the former king's faction and their plot to remove Armakan from the throne and since Sharrkan was the figurehead of that faction, he would be in danger now.

"But I am also to blame." Armakan added, exasperated. "When I succeeded the throne, I should have tried to resolve the problem with the former king's faction before it came to this."

It was clear that if Sharrkan remained in Heliohapt, he would spark another conflict in the future; after that conclusion Sakura decided to enter in.

"If he's in danger here, then why not allow him to come with Sindria Trading Company." Sakura announced, resting her hand on top of Sharrkan's head.

"What?" Narmes asked with disbelief.

"He is in a precarious position right now, wouldn't it make sense to leave him in the care of Sindria Company?"

"I agree with my partner on this." Sinbad said, coming up next to Sakura. "There are other royal children and important people from our allied nations that have joined us. I think you could say it's the safest place in the world."

Sakura had to bite back from commenting that any place with Sinbad could hardly ever be considered safe but if they were going to be trusted with the care of this country's youngest prince; she figured it was best to leave that comment unsaid.

"It's true if my brother remains here, it will only result in chaos for our country. I don't have a problem with your conditions but this is…." Armakan paused "Like you're taking a hostage."

Sakura placed her hand over her chest, speaking with complete sincerity. "That is not our intention at all. We're only concerned for the safety of the prince, whose country we have now formed an alliance with."

Armakan was silent for a brief moment, "Fine, I'll entrust my brother to you Sinbad. As a symbol of our alliance."

Sharrkan looked at his brother, with tears in the corner of his eyes.

"There's no place for you in this country." Armakan told his brother, "As Heliohapt is now, your presence will only lead to more trouble. But, once you've grown and found your own strength and I have supressed this country's conflicts. Come home. Return to this country someday."

This must have been the first time; that Sharrkan and Armakan were able to share a moment that was remotely close to a normal sibling relationship. It made Sakura wonder though; if brother's who had been set against each other since birth were somehow able to share a moment like this and to retain a bond that had somehow been created despite the distance between them. Given their struggle for power. How was it possible that they could look at each other like that? That they still held this connection.

Sasuke's brother Itachi had killed every single member of his clan, except for Sasuke. Why was that, what was the real reason? This was making her revaluate the Uchiha Massacre. There had to be something more that she was missing. If she could talk to Naruto about this when he came back-

'Wait.' Sakura stopped herself, her eyes casting down. 'Why am I thinking that, I can't go back home. Besides…' she looked over to Sinbad. She clenched her fists. 'I made my decision…'

"Although," Armakan continued, "There will still be many in Heliohapt that will remain under the influence of the former king's faction."

Sakura held up her hand, now looking back to the official king of Heliohapt. "Exposing the faction's true motives should be enough to allow the older generation to see reason, there is also the former king's final words as evidence in case you are threatened again but I doubt that will happen. I'm certain you and your faction will be able to achieve all you set out if you remain strong to your own ideals."

"You seem to have already thought this through." Narmes said, with everything that had happened today; the followers of the former king's faction and their reactions or retaliation had been set far back in their minds. In fact, it hardly seemed like something to be worried about and yet…

'Why did king Armakan bring it up?' he wondered

"Your partner seems to talk a lot on your behalf doesn't she?" Armakan asked Sinbad, it was clear he meant no actual offense in his words, merely curious about the answer.

Sinbad grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I wouldn't say she talks on my behalf but for my sake and benefit yes."

Sakura shrugged casually, "I merely speak from my own perspectives and beliefs. Like I believe that this alliance will be a great stepping stone towards what Heliohapt and king Armakan wishes for the country."

"She's a good negotiator too." Sinbad said, suddenly feeling the need to boast. "And one of the reasons I've been able to get as far as I have with my company. She has intuition and sharp views that have helped me make excellent decisions."

Sakura was about to completely deny Sinbad's claim as she always did when he said something like that about her, but Armakan said something that rendered her speechless.

"Then I would like to make a request." Armakan said.

"What would that be?" asked Sinbad.

"Would you allow me to keep your companion Sakura Haruno in Heliohapt?" Armakan asked, directing his attention to Sakura.

Now Sakura already knew from the looks she was getting from her companions that the choked up questions and splutters were about to come her way as they did for Sinbad in Zepar's dungeon. So she quickly pushed down her own shock to ask.

"Excuse me king Armakan, I don't quite understand." Sakura said carefully.

" _Really?"_ all of her djinn's sarcastic voices ran through her head but she didn't bother to send back a comment.

"I am still a long way from achieving my goals for this country. There will be those who still oppose this alliance but perhaps with someone standing in to represent that alliance would help." Armakan told them. "Though I hate to admit this; we are still green when it comes to these matters. Narrow minded compared to the rest of the world, the perspective of someone who has seen what lies beyond Heliohapt could be a great asset and in terms of negotiating as well. And Sinbad has just pointed you as the best person for this."

Sinbad did not say anything-mainly because like the rest of his friends he was struck a little speechless right now but finally coming out of that state he decided to as attentively as possible speak.

"Your highness, you're asking me to leave one of my companions in your care, without consulting them on the matter?" Sinbad asked.

"You are their leader correct?" Armakan asked back, "If you wished it, wouldn't any of your subordinates agree?"

"Of course we would." Sakura said quickly. Sinbad gave her questioning look. Did she not realise that this included her remaining behind in Heliohapt? "I wouldn't have any objections if Sinbad wished for me to remain in Heliohapt to assist you."

Ja'far, Mystras, Hinahoho, Masrur, Drakon, Sahel and Tamira were gaping at the three, along with Narmes and the rest of the king's subordinates. No one was able to make sense as to why King Armakan would request for Sakura to stay in Heliohapt.

"What is happening?" Mystras asked leaning towards his friends.

"I don't know. I blinked and missed the turning point." Hinahoho said back, his arms folded as he watched with interest.

"Well then Sinbad?" Armakan asked. "Would you assist me in confidence of our alliance?"

Sinbad looked back and forth between Sakura-who wasn't objecting in any way to get him out of this pinch! He didn't want to agree with this but he didn't want to damage their newly formed alliance in any way so he was finding the right words to reject the king's request. And he would have if Serendine hadn't stepped up next to them and speak instead.

"King Armakan, that request you make is not possible."

Sakura and Sinbad both turned to Serendine, as she addressed the king, her expression calm and serious. "Sakura Haruno is Sinbad's partner and intended; it would not be appropriate for him to agree to this request of yours. Sakura Haruno is also a co-leader of Sindria trading company, therefore she has many responsibilities as well."

Sakura was surprised by Serendine intervention, but she couldn't say she didn't appreciate it. Then she felt a tug on her waist, Sinbad was looking at Armakan grinning. "It's exactly, as princess Serendine has said your highness. She's my intended before my subordinate."

Armakan nodded with just the slightest hesitation before turning away. "I understand."

"King Armakan," Sakura called to him. Waiting until he turned back around, she smiled brightly. "I feel that you will definitely be able to make this country great-greater than any of your previous kings because you have the vision and the determination. You do not need someone like me; you already have all you need."

King Armakan turned back with his subordinates. "When I do; be sure to return in good faith to that belief of yours."

Sinbad's grip tightened around Sakura's waist but she continued to smile. "We will."

* * *

With everything that had taken place that day; it was decided that it would be best to go to the inn and rest for the night before continuing their journey. Sharrkan would have some time to prepare to leave Heliohapt with the group and everyone else would be given a chance to recuperate from their dive into the dungeon. Sakura and Sinbad had gone to their room that night, early like everyone else but unlike the rest of them, they weren't intended on sleeping right away. Cleared out with their other priorities, it was time to confront some other issues.

"He's was interested in you."

"He was not."

"Yes he was.

"No he wasn't."

This had been the mantra for the last few minutes between Sinbad and Sakura. When they were out of sight, Sinbad immediately went to addressing what had happened early that afternoon with Armakan, attempting to find the reason behind his sudden interest in his pinkette.

"Sakura-as someone with a bit of a colourful past-

Sakura let out a loud 'hah' as she set her metal vessels on the drawer with Sinbad's, taking off her gloves and boots. "Sinbad, you're past is so full of colour-its mixed and turned black already!"

He winced, because he knew she wasn't exactly wrong. Although he knew he was one of the last people to be giving this kind of lecture; logic was kind of a null point when your girlfriend nearly pushed you into letting her stay in a foreign country with its king.

"My point is; I know what a situation looks like when you're interested in someone beyond a platonic or professional point." Sinbad said, slowing down a bit to allow the words to really sink in. "And king Armakan was about to cross it."

Sakura sighed, running her hands over her face before turning back to Sinbad who was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well, maybe that's just from your standpoint-

"Because it was happening right in front of me!" Sinbad exclaimed, throwing his arms out. His eyes narrowed at Sakura for her behaviour. "I don't know whether you chose not to see it or if you were just enjoying it."

Raising her eyebrow, Sakura took a deadly stride towards Sinbad, shifting her head as if she wanted her chin to touch her chest but her eyes were looking straight into his. "What?"

Sinbad coughed, rubbing the bottom of his chin. "I think you know what. You were leading Armakan on to get back at me."

"For what?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms in disbelief.

"For all the times I made you jealous."

Sakura opened her mouth but then closed it, as if another thought occurred to her. She started stepping backwards. "Okay." She took three steps to the back. "Because I don't want any witnesses if or when I kill you…" she reached for the door handle and threw the door open. Ja'far, Hinahoho, Mystras, Masrur, Drakon, Sahel and Tamira all stumbled to the front but didn't fall forward. Sakura and Sinbad watched as they all scurried off in one of the two directions in the hall way, back to the safety of their rooms.

"Okay." Sakura closed the door again. She stomped back over to Sinbad till she was able to lean forward so that their faces were inches apart. "Let's get this straight. I did not intend to make king Armakan give a sliver of interest towards me, I only spoke when I thought I needed to and I didn't make any lame attempt at light conversation as a ways to flirt just so that I could get you back for all your sleazy behaviour throughout the years."

Sinbad smirked, leaning forward so that their noses were touching. "Well, if that's the case then I suppose that you weren't jealous either when princess Serendine offered to marry me?"

"Oh please." Sakura rolled her eyes, though she was pouting now.

"Don't worry Sakura," Sinbad teased, "The princess is very beautiful but my attention will always come back to you."

"Who would worry about that?!" Pulling away, Sakura scoffed, blushing now. "I was just shocked, because I thought she would make a better choice in a husband than some womanizer that flirts with every female he catches in sight."

Laughing, Sinbad threw himself to the back, his arms spread out. "What about your decision when you agreed to stay with me?"

"Grief clouded my judgement." Sakura said back.

"Mmm." Sinbad replied with a sarcastic tinge in his wordless tone. "Sure-that was it."

"Hey, don't try to turn this on me just because you were jealous for nothing." Sakura said raising her hands up as a sign of surrender; although her intentions were far from it. Although Sinbad's words really hit a painful mark. She wouldn't admit to any more than she had in that dungeon. That wound was still fresh and going to take a lot more than chakra to heal.

As the tension grew, instead of a retort or snarky comment, Sinbad swung his legs and lifted himself from the bed. Sakura took a step back when she caught the look on his face. His presence becoming intimidating. Her heart thrummed vigorously against her chest as she backed away.

"Sinbad…?" Sakura called warily, she continued to move to the back until cold touched her and she couldn't move any further. She looked back up and gasped at Sinbad's close proximity.

"Jealous for nothing? You think I'm jealous for nothing?" He asked, no not bothered that he admitted to being jealous. He extended his arms on both sides of her head, so that he was literally at arm's length from her.

"Sinbad-

"Tell me about him again." Sinbad cut her off and when her eyebrows furrowed and her lip jutted out in confusion, he explained. "Tell me-about Sasuke again."

Now frowning, Sakura attempted to create a little more distance from Sinbad. "I told you about him already-

"You told me he left your village and that you weren't able to stop him." Sinbad confirmed. "But that was the vaguest explanation."

"Again why?" Sakura asked, beginning to sound annoyed.

"Because!" Sinbad's voice raised a little, he kept his eyes averted with his face down and bangs covering most of it. "I want to know more about the first guy that managed to get you to fall for him."

Sinbad had finalised with himself; that if he wanted to learn everything there was to know about Sakura. He was going to have to start chipping away at her with harder questions. Their relationship couldn't appear as impersonal as it did to King Armakan today. He didn't want that but he knew he couldn't ask her for full disclosure either or she would clamp up on him. When they had first started travelling together, she was like that but it was different now and he did not want it to go back to that. He had only caught snippets of her then. Her past didn't sound anything to be fond of; he knew this because she really seemed to despise her past self. He figured whatever was holding her back, he would find it, even if it meant chipping at her piece by piece.

Sakura's heart speed felt like it doubled again; she had told Sinbad about Sasuke before but it was as if this change in their relationship had turned certain subjects that were once easy to digest suddenly became too sour to even swallow. Despite that, she decided to tell him. "Sasuke Uchiha; I knew him since I was a little girl, the first time I saw him I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He was smart, handsome; good at everything he did and he had a prestigious name. I admired him just as every other girl in our village did. Like all of them, I claimed to be madly in love with him."

Sakura had unconsciously smiled and Sinbad clenched his fists beside her head. "And when I ended up being placed on the same team with him; I was so happy. I thought-we're on the same time, this is fate, we'll definitely end up together-I'm going to win-all this childish fantasy's." Sakura shook her head. "I even grew my hair long because I thought it would impress him. Of course it just got in the way of everything."

Sinbad was suddenly glad she had short hair, but he remembered her telling him that long hair reminded her of the worst version of herself. Said it represented her own weakness. Was he also a factor behind why she didn't want to have long hair?

Sakura blinked when she realised that tears were blurry her vision. "I never looked passed that stoic face; if I did I would have been able to see how he was suffering. If I had been smart enough or deep enough to look beyond the surface back then, I might have been able to see it. His pain. His loss. His sadness. How he was dealing with that all on his own."

Sinbad was taken aback when he saw tears rolling down Sakura's face, but in contrast to that, she was smiling. "When he left the village, I begged him not to; I told him I was so in love with him I couldn't take it." Sakura let out a bitter laugh, slamming her wrist on her forehead. "I acted like a complete fool and in the end it did nothing to stop him from leaving. I still didn't try to understand his pain and solitude and just said whatever I thought would suite me-the-the last thing he said to me was, Sakura thank you for everything."

Sinbad's eyes widened as he recalled their time back in Reim.

" _Just say Sakura thank you-the rest should be easy…"_

Now he understood where that came from. Someone she cared for dearly had said that to her before abandoning her. That was why she told him to say it to her. She was reliving a bitter memory to punish herself. If he brought up the rest of her past-what would that bring? Would she be able to handle all of it? He knew he still didn't understand everything, but she was suffering. Still suffering even when she didn't see it herself.

"I was so desperate to get him back; that I even made his best friend promise me to bring Sasuke back-his best friend who I know cared for me me-to set aside his own feelings, endure this pain and go after Sasuke for me. To bring him back to me." Sakura cried gently. "I used his best friend and what's worse-even without me there, he's still probably going to chase after him for me. Because that's just the kind of guy he is. If he makes a promise, he'll keep it."

He knew one thing for certain now. Sakura really loved Sasuke. It wasn't just a simple flicker of affection-no this was pure, dedicated love she had for Sasuke and for whatever reason, he had found something more important and left her-wounded, but still in love. Even now.

"Revenge," Sakura breath came out shaky. "That's why he left. He wanted power to get revenge. On his older brother."

Sinbad did his best to keep a calm face but it was hard when hearing something like that. Especially after dealing with Armakan and Sharrkan today.

"Sasuke's brother; murdered their entire clan, including their parents. Sasuke was the only one he left alive. Sasuke has never gotten passed what happened. The worst kind of betrayal, always comes from those you care about." Sakura took a breath again, wiping her eyes. "Sasuke wants to kill his brother to get revenge for his entire clan. That's all he has ever focused on; for years it was his only motive and goal. I never realised just how far he was willing to go to achieve it."

Although Sinbad wanted to know all he could about Sakura. He had no idea that this was the kind of burdens and pain that had been endured. He didn't know exactly what kind of person she had fallen in love with. Hearing about Sasuke, he honestly couldn't understand how exactly.

"I wanted to go with him." Sakura continued softly, her voice steady as if she was balancing it on a thin thread and at any moment she would waver and it would fall, cracking. "Even though I know I would have been miserable and probably hated it with every fibre of my being I still would have gone. I wanted to be with him. I offered to leave everything behind, my friends, my family but it wasn't enough."

Sakura didn't understand, she didn't know why Sinbad had brought up Sasuke like this and she didn't understand why she was continuing to tell him about Sasuke but she couldn't bring herself to stop. When it came to those you loved, your emotions took a hold of you and you were no longer in control of your own thoughts. Talking about Sasuke brought up her past and her past came attached with painful feelings. Even though she had tried to keep those memories at bay.

"I haven't seen him, in years and I won't see him ever again." Sakura finished, sniffing softly.

" _It hurts when you have someone in your heart but you can't have them in your arms."_

It was Sasuke she had been referring to back then in the dungeon. He could tell just by looking at her grief stricken expression on her face. It twisted her features further than any physical pain could ever cause a person.

"You really love him, don't you Sakura?" His heart gave a painful clench. These feelings weren't the kind that you could get rid of-not even in a lifetime. "And you always will."

Sakura let out a choked sob, "You can't change who people are but you can love them."

Sinbad realised something else as well-Serendine must have made her feel that same pain toward him when she put Sakura's heart and mind against each other. She had lost Sasuke to his own ambitions and she thought she would lose Sinbad to his as well. She was willing to put everything on the line for him, but when she was asked to give him up, she couldn't do it. She said it was because she was selfish, because she didn't want just half of him. He didn't really read between the lines then to realise it. To realise what she was saying. His eyes widened, he felt an entirely new sensation filling him.

'She loves me.'

"I'm sorry, I said too much." Sakura said, attempting to wipe her face in vain as she tears continued to pour. Finally, she was able to realise that she had just talked about Sasuke with such passion that she forgot to take into consideration Sinbad's feelings and filter. Stilling wiping her face, Sakura moved her body to the side, heading for the door. "I'm just going to go sleep in Masrur's room."

When Sakura's finger tips touched the doorknob, her arms were pushed against her body when Sinbad gathered her on his arms tightly from behind.

"Sinbad-

"Don't." He cut her off, pulling her close. His face resting at the back of her neck.

"What?"

"Don't go," he said. Keeping his eyes closed as he drew her nearer. "Please…..stay."

Sakura didn't understand. Sinbad just realised that she still loved Sasuke and she hadn't even told Sinbad that she loved him as well. She had realised that more than one person could hold the same position in your heart, but that didn't mean it was easy to share. After Zepar's dungeon, that prospect became clear to her. If Sinbad knew that she had the same feelings for Sasuke as she had for him, why would he ask her to stay with him? When she couldn't even do the same for him and Serendine?

Reaching up to grasp the arms wrapped around her, Sakura whispered. "Why? I don't understand. Why-why would you want me to-to stay with you?"

For once, Sinbad's answer was quickly and simple.

"Because I love you."

..

..

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..

..

..

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..

..

..

..

..

The words weren't much, but to Sakura they were enough to move her to tears and make her feel as if time had stopped. It was a phrase that many used too often for deceit instead of what it was intended for. But this one; having to directly at her. She had forgotten all about those deceits. About the people who took that phrase for granted as she basked in it.

Sakura was frozen, taking small, silent breaths as she allowed Sinbad to turn her around so that she was facing him. Lifting her chin so that they were eye to eye. She felt like she was being lifted as he spoke.

"Sakura; I love you." Sinbad pressed his forehead against her own, there were tears in the corner of his eyes. He didn't repeat it for the sake of reminding her, or for pressing a case. No, he did it because he wanted her to know. He didn't expect anything else from this confession. No return of any kind. He just wanted her to know without having to second guess. No false hopes or promises. Just the truth.

Fresh tears were now falling down Sakura's face. The happiness she felt in that moment caused a flood, the tears kept pouring but her eyes were far from sad.

"So; will you stay with me?" Sinbad asked again, his voice barely above a whisper.

Without knowing which words to form an answer, Sakura wrapped her arms around Sinbad's shoulders leaning forward until their lips were on top of one another's. Both of their breathing grew deeper as the held on as long as they could, drawing back barely a second before coming back. Their lips heated against each other, cheeks flushed red. The intensity only growing instead of simmering down as it usually did. Becoming more insistent. Sakura began stepping forward, while Sinbad stepped back, moving in sync as if an unknown force was controlling their movements When his legs hit the front of the bed, Sinbad lied down, keeping his arms around Sakura's waist as she now hovered above him.

Finally, Sakura pulled away, her breathing heavy as was Sinbad's. Their noses touching at the close proximity. Nothing in their line of vision now but emerald or gold.

With unknown courage that seemed to gather, allowing her to resolve this one matter, she spoke. "I love you, Sinbad."

The nurturing warmth that Sakura had felt when Sinbad said those words to her, reciprocated towards the purple haired male. The rukh was fluttering wildly and Sakura had to smile. Running her hands over his face, down his neck and on top of his chest.

Sinbad moved his head up as Sakura leaned down, when their lips connected again he carefully shifted them so that he was now hovering above and Sakura allowed him. Her back now resting against the cool sheets as she peered up at Sinbad who was staring down at her, his cheeks flushed, eyes glossy and ironically enough the most vulnerable position she had ever seen him in and that was saying a lot give the past.

Sakura could feel her heart still beating heavily against her chest, it hadn't gone down for a good while and she wondered if Sinbad's heart was beating like this as well. Lifting her hand, she pressed her palm against his chest. Meeting a rapid patter-just like that day. She withdrew her hand, panting softly. She closed her eyes when Sinbad caressed her face, sliding down her cheek to her neck.

"Sakura…." Sakura exhaled. Looking down at the pinkette he had come to love.

She smiled at him, brightly, reassuringly before touching his face. Her thumb running across his cheek. In that moment they felt that everything would be alright. There was nothing weighing on them in this room. They were not dungeon capturers, they were not merchants, not an interloper, or an aspiring future king. They were just a boy and a girl. Sinbad and Sakura.

And that's how it was going to be for the night.


	33. The Torran village

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Poisonblossom18**

 **This is the author you go to if you want to read Sakura and Sinbad's first time together. The link is also on my page. You can read it before returning to the new chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoy**

* * *

When Sakura woke up from her deep sleep, she had a bit of a startle when she realized the sheets were touching her skin-all of her skin, not a stitch of clothing on her body. The warmth of the sun engulfing her body and a light breeze brushing against her. It took her a few seconds before she remembered last night's turn of events and turned five shades of red. Looking beside her she saw Sinbad still sleeping, lying on his stomach.

"Oh," Sakura ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to calm it and taking deep breaths to slow down her excited heart. She should not be this happy in the morning!

Sinbad opened his eyes, blinking several times before sitting up. He yawned and then grinned over at Sakura. The covers shimmied down his back as he turned to sit up, the material stopping just above his waist. "Good morning."

Sakura clutched the sheets closer to her chest, looking down and then back at him; accidently materializing her thoughts into words. "So it really wasn't a dream?"

"You honestly think it's possible to have a dream that good?" Sinbad asked beaming now, stretching out his arms. Sakura saw how his muscles flexed and tightened before relaxing when he brought his arms down.

"N-No," Sakura shook her head, blushing. It was still a little hard to believe though. She was completely sober last night but she still couldn't believe it for whatever reason. Those feelings she had experienced, the sensations-they were almost too wonderful to be real. Suppose that was just the rare times the expectations of the innocent weren't eradicated by actual practice.

Chuckling, Sinbad scooted closer to the pinkette and kissed the side of her head, making her blinked with wide eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Well…" Sakura averted her gaze to the window. "Considering last night…"

She stopped herself. With the way things had gone last night, she was not going to pump up Sinbad's ego by giving him the details. He'd never allow her to stop hearing about it.

"You were there-you should know!" Sakura countered, pulling the covers of her head and curling up when she heard Sinbad start laughing.

"Oh I think I have a pretty good idea, but I'd love to hear your opinion." Sakura jerked away when she felt Sinbad start poking at the sheets she was attempting to hide under. The memory of last night had now appeared fresh in her mind and it was not going to be easy to erase. It was going to be there for the rest of her life.

"My opinion is that someone is going to end up single and incapacitated if he doesn't stop poking fun." Sakura hissed.

Sinbad was grinning madly now. Sakura had been rather shy and conscious last night. It was a side of her he hadn't seen before. That awkwardness that accompanied her inexperience and nativity-he found both endearing and alluring.

He saw one of the pillows lying on the floor and chuckled. She had been so worried about the kind of noises and faces she would make, that she tried to smother herself with a pillow while he was on top of her. That face she made when she looked at him, those glossy eyes-nearly made him lose all control. He had taken things as slowly as he could. She had trusted herself to him and he did his best to make sure he did not break that trust. Sakura didn't come across as the kind of person who would do anything with someone she didn't feel strongly enough for and even then she would have boundaries. She made that very clear to Sinbad when she agreed to be with him and last night they had broken through all of those boundaries. Though it was consented, he did not want her in any ways to regret it. He wanted all of her and he was going to make sure she knew that.

His smile turned gentle, reaching for the covers Sakura was hiding under. 'Soon.'

"Hey, come on out of there." He gave a small tug, but she pulled back.

"No." Sakura grumbled.

"We have to get ready before Ja'far or someone else comes knocking on the door." Sinbad pointed, he leaned against the headrest of the bed. "I don't really mind everyone knowing what we did last night but I'm sure they'll figure it out on their own when we're both late for breakfast."

"Oh crap!" Sakura scurried out of the covers, grabbing one of the sheets to wrap her body up and then went in search of her clothes; which were lying on the floor near the side of the bed. However; Sakura realized that she might have been jumping a little too soon, because when her feet touched the floor, a shockwave ran through her and numbed her legs, rendering her immobile. She ended up sinking to the ground, with her legs tucked under her thighs.

Sinbad moved across the bed and peered over to look at her. "What's wrong?"

She held up her hand, signaling for him not to say a word. Sakura was looking down at her hands on the ground. It only took her a few seconds to realize she couldn't move. Her legs felt like led all of a sudden and she collapsed. She felt her blush travel as far as it could go, dipping below the sheets that covered her.

"Sakura?" Sinbad called, worried now. He got off the bed, slipping on his pants that was lying on the floor and rushed around till he was in front of Sakura. He crouched down in front of her. "What's going on?"

The pinkette was wide eyed, starring at her thighs. "I-I can't stand up."

Sinbad shot up; realizing that this was the usual after effects from first experience. "O-Oh!"

Sakura covered her red face, "I can't go down to the others like this."

Removing her hands, Sakura looked up to Sinbad before extending her arms out towards him. "Here"

The purple haired boy's lip cured in confusion. "Eh?"

"Pick me up!" Sakura elaborated, still holding out her arms, the sheets slipping slightly with her movement. Sinbad's heart gave a jolt when he saw her face; her mouth slightly open, emerald green eyes starring right at him-last night definitely opened a new flood gate in him! Now he was the one getting flustered.

"R-Right." Sinbad reached down, carefully scooping Sakura into his arms. Sakura asked if she was too heavy when she felt him trembling. Meanwhile he was praying to his self-control to stay with him a little longer.

"If I'm heavy, set me down on the bed already." Sakura said, noticing how tense Sinbad had become and trembling.

"That's not why I'm trembling. In fact-I think you might have burned a couple-

"Shut up!" Sakura lightly smacked his chest as Sinbad put her back on the bed. He covered her with the other sheet and went around the bed to get his clothes and started dressing.

"Okay, you should stay here. I'll go and get you breakfast."

"Wait," Sakura called when Sinbad was about to touch the door knob, he looked back at her. "Can you hand me my clothes on the floor?"

Sinbad raised his eyebrow, smirking. "I'm getting you breakfast. Leave me something to look forward to when I get back."

"Pervert!"

After throwing a pillow at his head, Sakura watched as Sinbad rushed out closing the door behind her. Sighing, she threw herself back on the bed, starring up at the ceiling. Smiling in bliss. Boy would she be getting an earful if they ever found out.

* * *

It took a few days for the group the cross the desert when they left Heliohapt, backtracking to Reim territory Katargo. Sinbad had decided that for escorting Masrur back to his homeland, it would be better if they went in a smaller group since they tended to attract a lot of attention even though it was unintentional. Initially, it was only going to be Sinbad, Sakura and Masrur that went but then Sinbad was reminded that he did not actually know how to get to the Dark Continent and of course Sakura wouldn't know and this was the first time Masrur would be returning to his homeland. That's when their new addition-Sharrkan, said that there was another group who lived there. The Torran people in the South. A civilization older than Heliohapt. He suggested that they might know more about the Dark Continent, including its other inhabitants.

Because Sharrkan was the only one who actually knew where the village was, Sinbad asked him to accompany then-despite Sakura and Ja'far's protesting. So Sakura asked Ja'far to join them as well-much to Sinbad's protests.

Travelling South meant that they had to deal with even worse weather, there were strong sandstorms. Pelting grains of sands into your skin at a painful speed. Sinbad and Sakura had started off by using their djinn equips to fly but Sharrkan got motion sick so they resorted to walking on foot. Though after the sandstorm, Sinbad insisted on flying once again.

"I'm telling you we should just fly there!" Sinbad protested, pulling the hood of his wrapping further over his head.

"Prince Sharrkan will get sick again!" Sakura threw her arms up in the air, wincing when her bare arms were shot with sand. She adjusted Sharrkan's hood over his head. Masrur was walking through the sandstorm with little trouble, barely batting an eye. "You can't just do things for your own convenience."

"She's right Sin." Ja'far agreed. Starring down at his map.

"See this is why I didn't want the two of you together! You're always teaming up against me!" Sinbad exclaimed. He then turned to Sakura, pointing at her accusingly. "You're supposed to support me as my partner!"

"That doesn't mean I have to stupidly nod my head at every brash decision you make!" Sakura exclaimed through the howling winds. Tasting sand on her mouth.

"Sakura's right Sin-

"See what I mean!?"

"Hey don't just-

Sharrkan didn't seem entirely comfortable travelling with the group he had just met barely two days ago. In his suppressed palace life, he hadn't learned any valuable social skills and wasn't sure how to interact with everyone. Sakura seemed nice enough and his brother must have thought so as well since he wanted her to stay in Heliohapt but she was with Sinbad. He actually couldn't believe that they were in a relationship as per according to the rest of their comrades and friends. Before they left Sakura and Sinbad had argued like this too; princess Serendine had told him that this was actually normal but he wasn't so sure if in any relationship, you were supposed to argue this much.

After another hour, the sandstorm ended and they were able to resume their journey at a more peaceful pace. It had quieted down between Sinbad, Ja'far and Sakura as well. Now they were just giving each other the silent treatment, their gazes averted.

Sharrkan looked down, disheartened. 'This is awkward, I don't know what to say to them."

He felt a soft tap on his shoulder, turning around quickly with a bit of a jump to see Masrur standing behind him. "Hey, what kind of place is the Dark Continent? You know don't you?"

Sharrkan smiled, feeling relieved that he might have met someone he could actually talk to and this boy seemed to be about his age. "Yeah, though I've never actually been there."

Masrur sighed in disappointment, "So you don't actually know anything then? I guess that's what being royalty is like."

"Hey," Sakura lightly bonked Masrur on the back of his head, he looked up at her confused as she crouched down next to him. "That wasn't nice Masrur; prince Sharrkan's going through the trouble of helping us find your homeland; also he is older than you."

Sakura then looked back up at the prince, smiling. "I'm sorry about that prince Sharrkan; he doesn't have the best social skills but Masrur didn't mean to offend you."

Sharrkan shook his head, blushing at the pinkette. "No it's fine"

He froze when he felt fingers gently run through his hair, softly scraping against his sculp. Sakura's thin fingers slid through his hair with ease. "I know that you haven't had a lot of freedom to express yourself; but you don't have to hold yourself back around us okay prince Sharrkan?"

"Hold on," Sinbad said, walking up to them. "He is one of our allies now. His status shouldn't matter anymore, so why don't we drop the formalities?"

"That would be easier," Sakura turned back to Sharrkan, "How about it, can we just call you Sharrkan from now on?"

Then a huge smile broke out on his face and his eyes shimmered happily. Sharrkan nodded his head vigorously. Sinbad held out his hand for the boy.

"I'm sure you'll be bewildered by all these new experiences, but this is an adventure. Of course there will be danger but we're friends now and friends protect each other and in the future, you'll become a source of strength for us. We're counting on you Sharrkan."

Nodding happily, Sharrkan took Sinbad's hand in his. "Yes."

* * *

The adventure through the desert continued in search of the Torran village, heading South under the beating sun and cold nights. Sakura was extremely agitated, but it wasn't the desert conditions and heat that was getting to her. It was constantly having to ward off Sinbad's advances. She actually thought he would be more distant.

They stopped for lunch deciding to finish the meat they had stocked in their bags before it went bad.

"Sharrkan's, this meats delicious huh?" Sinbad asked, already holding his large portion in his hands.

"Yeah," Sharrkan beamed, about to bite into his own meal; instead his teeth clamped down over one another when Masrur briefly snatched the meat from him and was heading towards the fire.

"It's half-cooked, I'll fix it."

Sakura sighed; she would have to tell Masrur to start giving warnings before he simply grabs things from people. She turned to Sinbad when she heard him moan as he bit into the meat.

"I sure am hungry." He said, his voice raised to be heard but coy enough to actually sound believable.

"It's been a few hours, we're walking through this blazing heat; you are going to get hungry Sin." Ja'far stated, eating his food in tiny decent bites.

"Yeah but it's so strange Ja'far. I mean I had such a big breakfast this morning. Right Sakura?"

It was as if Sinbad's hand was a trigger for her body to heat up, because when he touched her shoulder she felt her entire face turn red. Sakura abruptly stood up and made her way towards the fire. "Oh-my meats a little underdone too!"

That seemed to be a believable excuse for her to escape Sinbad's snare. Her anger boiling. She crouched down beside Masrur to put her food over the fire, hardly paying attention to the flames as the flickered and danced around the meat.

'What is he thinking?!'

 _Sakura had dosed off after Sinbad left, feeling relaxed after giving herself a healing session. Using her medical jutsu to sooth her aching hips. If Sinbad saw her doing that, his ego would become so inflated it would burst. She was still a little light headed herself so she didn't want to have him around to tease her or ask any questions about thing she would be too nervous about._

 _Barely a few minutes later the door opened and Sinbad entered, carrying a tray filled with different colored fruits, she could detect the distinct smell of meat, eggs and some pastries. And tea._

" _Looks like I finally got the breakfast in bed thing right." Sinbad grinned, noticing how Sakura's mouth hung open when he placed the tray in front of her. She adjusted the sheets around her before shifting to the side to make room for him._

" _Thanks."_

" _Sure." Sinbad said, grabbing a piece of red fruit for himself. He had doubled checked on all of the food which took some time-he didn't want to have a repeat of regurgitating like in the market place. The silence that surrounded them as they ate was thin and papery, easy to shred._

" _Did you mean what you said last night?"_

 _Sakura cocked her head to the side in confusion; she didn't say much of anything last night when they started-she was too busy choking on her nerves and embarrassment._

" _After." Sinbad clarified, taking another bite out of the one of the pastries._

 **There was no words Sakura had to describe that feeling, the desire and stirring emotions. She grinned, starring up at the ceiling. Sinbad rolled onto his stomach next to her, still panting. He smiled when he saw her face. Cupping her jaw, he kissed her softly before pulling away.**

" **Sure took us a while to get here huh?" Sinbad asked, brushing a few wet strands across her forehead.**

" **Mmm," Sakura hummed tired but content. "Whole thing finally feels right though."**

 _Sakura didn't think her face could grow any hotter, but taking a breath she calmed herself before responding. "Yes; I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it at the time."_

 _Sighing in relief when Sinbad seemed satisfied with the answer, Sakura went back to eating, but after a minute she was completely full._

" _I'm not hungry anymore; you can finish the rest."_

 _Taking the tray and placing it on the dresser, Sinbad looked back to Sakura. "I'm also finished."_

 _Sakura smiled, leaning towards Sinbad pecking his lips, but when she pulled back Sinbad leaned forward, reconnecting their mouths. Sakura clutched the sheet tightly to her chest, shielding her. She didn't mind being seen naked in front of Ja'far and Masrur, but it was different with Sinbad._

 _Her back pressed against the bed; Sinbad moved to hover on top of her. They would pull back and then come back at a steady pace. When Sinbad pulled away and grinned down at her, Sakura decided to ask._

" _What was that about?" she asked, still panting._

" _Sorry-got a little carried away."_

 _Shaking her head at his apology, Sakura softly replied, "I don't really mind."_

 _Taking that as the signal to continue, he moved down again, leaning towards her lips but missed when she moved her head to the side. He stared down at her, now baffled by her own contradiction of words to actions._

" _Sinbad; I know that things are going to be different now since we've both consented but I still have certain conditions."_

 _Sinbad's face turned serious, somehow he hadn't expected this but at the same time something told me that he should've. "What is it?"_

 _Taking a breath, Sakura visibly pulled the sheets closer to her body, though Sinbad could see the outline of her finger through the thin material. "We need to be careful and you need to trust me when I say we aren't safe."_

 _He nodded without question; he knew what the outcome would be if they weren't. Despite their feelings for each other and the events that took place, they still had responsibilities and duties that needed their full attention. They were aiming to change the world and build a country; anything unexpected could really take them for a loop and create new priorities that neither admitted to being ready for._

" _Anything else?"_

" _Yes." Sakura said automatically, taking Sinbad aback slightly but her sharp tone. It was also kind of ironic given she was completely bare covered with a bed sheet right under him. "I don't want anyone to get suspicions about us…." She bit her lip, hoping Sinbad got the message._

" _Don't worry," Sinbad snickered, "I don't plan on blatantly advertising; but I'm not going to deny if I'm asked."_

" _That's fine." She just hoped that no one would actually ask, or she was going to have to go into hiding._

 _Sinbad smirked, leaning down. "But I have conditions of my own."_

 _Sakura swallowed hard, noticing that glimmer in Sinbad's eye. "W-What would that be exactly?"_

 _The glimmer in his eyes became a beaming bright shine right there. Sinbad leaned down towards her, kissing her cheek affectionately and it might have seemed like a harmless act of endearment but Sakura bristled knowing that he had something sly planned._

" _Those three conditions you had before-I want to eliminate them all."_

" _HUH!?" Sinbad put his hand over the pinkettes mouth before she countered with the inevitable protesting._

" _Instead we'll replace them." Sinbad started, taking his hand off her mouth. "Firstly, that hands above the waist and below the chest rule-gone."_

 _Sakura glared at Sinbad and he smirked; he knew that once she made an exception once that her rules would become ineffective. That didn't mean she was happy about it though._

" _And the second rule-now not only applies to me." Sinbad pointed to Sakura, "But you as well. If it's going to be me, it can only be me."_

 _She raised an eyebrow, but gave a nod in agreement._

" _Speaking of which, we talked quite a bit about my colorful past but what about yours? Anyone I need to know about other than Sasuke?"_

" _No."_

 _Here response was almost too quick but Sinbad overlooked it because of her passive expression when she answered him, not able to see the false message. Sakura did not want to bring up what happened back in Kou-it didn't really count after all, at least that's what she believed. The thought of telling Sinbad just gave her an unsettling feeling in her stomach which she wished to reframe from escalating._

" _Anything else?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms over the covers._

" _Just one more thing, from now on-" He gave a sly grin. "From now on, no more holding back. Full effort."_

' _Oh crap.' Sakura swallowed hard, starring up at Sinbad with wide eyes_

That last condition had Sakura become completely unravel. With her conditions, she had made a type of barrier around her from Sinbad. He didn't have a problem with public displays of affection but Sakura-being the novice she was to these kinds of displays made her pull away from the act. She wasn't use to being showered with affection to this degree and it was overwhelming. The kind of overwhelming that would destroy her usual demeanor in public. The years in this world had given her a stronger front, more experienced. Now that her relationship with Sinbad had changed so drastically, he would be able to break that front in a second and she wasn't too fond of letting him know just how big of an impact he had on her. Which was why she did her best to keep her distance from him-especially now that the seal of conditions barrier had been ripped off.

"AH, SAKURA THE MEAT" Ja'far screamed from behind her.

Sakura was so engulfed by her thoughts of that morning that she accidently kept her meat over the fire long enough to burn it ash black and accidently singed a part of her thumb and index finger. The throbbing burn caused her to drop her scorched meal and cradle her injured hand.

"Are you alright?" Sinbad asked coming up next to her, he took her hand to look at her fingers, now completely red.

"Don't worry, I can heal-

Sakura cut herself off with a gasp when Sinbad took her fingers and placed them in his mouth. She let out a soft squeal.

Pulling back, Sinbad glanced up at Sakura, smiling. "Better?"

"SINBAD YOU IDIOT."

Ja'far, Sharrkan and Masrur all flinched when they heard the hard smack followed by Sinbad's cry of pain.

* * *

That wasn't the end of the cycle Sinbad and Sakura adopted throughout their journey through the Dark Continent. Sakura warding off Sinbad's advances and Sinbad returning. When they stopped for a water break; Sakura had bent down to get her bottle and drink-only to spit out that water when Sinbad smacked her from behind, which resulted in the same repercussions when he had 'treated' her burns. Then there was an incident when they all came across some rabbits as they neared a forest area, almost out of the desert. Sinbad made an indecent comment about them which set Sakura off in a very bad way and she just stopped talking to him all together.

"Is something going on?" Sharrkan asked Ja'far in a soft whisper. Watching Sakura and Sinbad walking in front of him.

"I wouldn't worry too much, they're just like this." Ja'far said attempting to ease the young prince but even Ja'far was wondering what exactly had taken place that Sakura wanted to create so much distance between her and Sinbad. From what he heard that night when all of them were 'informing' themselves outside of Sinbad and Sakura's inn room; it didn't sound like their conversation was going to be taking any pleasant turns but given how Sinbad was acting he would think they had made up, but with the way Sakura was acting gave him a completely different interpretation. Which quite frankly made his head spin.

"Yeah they're always like this." Ja'far said again, of course it was more to himself than Sharrkan.

* * *

Totem poles stood high, painted with intricate designs and carved on top to resemble birds. They aligned the paths that took to the coned shaped tents with large stitches visible where the material was attached. A field of crops and stone slabs set out in the distance. In a circle stone slabs that stood up and were placed like gates at shrines. There was also a kind of barricade set up around the village, logs that had been carved until the ends were sharp and them tied together to stand alone. This was the Torran village at the Southern tip of the Dark Continent.

Ja'far looked at the map, "This is definitely the Torran village."

Sinbad looked around in awe, getting that same gleam in his eyes to indicate the euphoria when coming across uncharted land. "I can't believe there's actually a village in a place like this."

"Yeah, I was starting to doubt it myself…" Ja'far said.

"It sure was a long way." Said Masrur, his calm red eyes looking around as well.

"I thought you'd be a little more excited." Sakura commented, resting a hand on top of Masrur's head in affection. "After all, we should be getting closer to your homeland right?"

Starring up, passive as always Masrur nodded.

Although Sakura was a little surprised herself. They had crossed the desert, which was almost completely vacant of any sign of life. There were some dangerous creatures that lurked around there but it was even lacking the presence of other people. Which would make you wonder whether or not there was a village this far in the Dark Continent.

After Sinbad saw two women exiting from one of the tents, he called to them, with his overly charismatic grin. "Excuse me, miss. We're travelers, could you please show us into your village?"

The women that saw Sinbad and everyone else began trembling, starring at them with their eyes wide before they heard a shout; in no less than ten seconds, there were men at the barricade to the village, they wore white clothes around their waists to cover, their torso's and arms were painted with a spiral symbols all over them. They looked upon the group with hostile glares, pointing their spears at them.

"Sin! What did you do now?!" Ja'far accused.

"Honestly, this has to be a new record for you! We didn't even make into the village!" Sakura added; backing away from the spears and pulling Sharrkan behind her.

"I just called out to them!" Sinbad took a step back when he felt one of the spears were a little too close to his face.

"Clearly that was all you needed to do!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hey this is not my-

"Would you two not do this now!?" Ja'far cut in.

The men started shouting in them, in a language that no one could understand-well Sakura was able to place a bit of the language. She had only ever really read it, but this was definitely Tran-also known as Torran but they were speaking it so quickly and with such guttural and harsh tongues that she was struggling to understand what they were saying. It was somewhere along a warning. Of course she didn't think she needed to translate for it to be obvious. Their tones were enough to relay that message.

"What are they saying?" Sinbad asked.

"They're speaking Torran." Sharrkan swallowed hard. "It's their official language."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "They think we're intruders."

Sinbad and Ja'far looked at her. "You can understand them?"

"Not really, they're talking at the same time." Sakura said, keeping her eyes on the villagers in case they decided to thrust more than just their words at the group.

Masrur came forward, lifting his leg high and rotating with quick speeds. Destroying the sharp ends of the spears, so that they were now nothing more than broken sticks. That probably wasn't going to earn them any favors with the village, but it was a little too late for that to be a concern.

"If words won't get through to them, I can silence them with force." Masrur wasn't actually threatening, he was promising. He had come all this way and it seemed he was more impatient now that they were so close to getting to his homeland. Ja'far didn't want Masrur to continue though, for fear of provoking the Torran people, but Sakura commented that it wouldn't matter now since they already appeared very provoked.

Then another voice silenced the crowd with their own, speaking in Torran, Sakura could make out, 'That's enough.' From the mob of tall men, all still in their prime an elderly man, with a beard long enough to reach his chest stepped through the crowd and the intimidating men all made way for him. Each holding the same nervous expression on their faces as he came to the front of the barricade.

"Put down your weapons. Travelers, you as well please." The man said; his one hand behind his back while his other held what looked like a walking stick. "I am the chief of this village. I can speak your language."

His eyes fell upon Masrur, the young boy looking like he was about to be swallowed by the bag on his back. After noticing the distinct features of Masrur's red hair and eyes, he spoke. "You're a Fanalis, aren't you?"

"Yes..."

"You know about the Fanalis?" asked Ja'far. "Then the Dark Continent really is the Fanalis home land?"

The chief of the Torran Village nodded, "Indeed. There used to be many Fanalis here."

Sakura tensed when she heard the elder and chief say 'used'; as in the past. It gave her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. Ja'far, Sinbad and Sharrkan; didn't seem to catch the grammatical implications because they were smiling at the prospect of Masrur getting to meet another one of his kind.

"You look like you're all just children, so I doubt you're a group of thieves." The chief said, then his expression turned sullen, bowing his head. "If you brought this Fanalis child here, you must intend to reunite him with his people but that it impossible…because."

Masrur's passive face, morphed. His eyebrows raised high, eyes widened and his mouth opening to the smallest gape to allow air to pass because it seemed like he couldn't breathe after the chief spoke.

"There are no longer any Fanalis left here."

The chief told them, that there were once many Fanalis in the Dark Continent and that they lived in villages; in fact the Torran Village was originally one of those villages. The reason they hadn't come across any villages in the desert until now was because the Fanalis villages were targeted by slave traders and annihilated.

"But why…? How could a people as strong as the Fanalis be annihilated?" asked Ja'far.

"Fanalis are still just humans. Slave traders took advantage of that fact. They deceived the Fanalis, pretending to befriend them and used medicines to drug them, they took the children hostage to subdue adults."

The next thing the chief said now had Sharrkan's expression falling into horror and shock. "The medicines made in Heliohapt are effective even on Fanalis. The slave traders were aware of that. Did you not know that?"

Sharrkan shook his head, trembling in disbelief.

"No matter how strong you are, once they set their sights on you, it's over…The Torran people have been persecuted as a savage tribe and driven from their homes to this far land. Our brethren too were targeted by slave traders." The chief explained. "That's why we distrust all outsiders. We will not allow them into our village. If you understand that, please leave. We'll let you go out of respect for that Fanalis child."

Sakura looked over to Masrur, he finally decided to speak, his voice kept low. "Where was this Fanalis village?"

"In the Southwest of this area, but it's no longer there."

"Masrur." Sakura put her hand on the boys shoulder; but he had jolted forward in a flash. Stepping hard and sprinting back around the Torran village and into the forest.

"MASRUR." Ja'far called after the boy, but he didn't stop running. He kept on going, until he was no longer in sight of his travel companions. Sakura dropped her bag next to the one that Masrur had left behind.

"I'm going to go get him."

"No, wait." Sinbad held Sakura's wrist, pulling her back. "There are some things that you just can't accept until you see them for yourself. Let him go."

Sakura's face scrunched up like crumpled paper before becoming straight again, she nodded. Realizing that he was probably right about this.

"Um…" Sharrkan started walking towards the path that Masrur had taken. "I'll go check on him. I can't just leave him in that state of mind."

They let Sharrkan follow after him. Sakura covered her face with both of her hands and ran it down, feeling her hands become slick with the sweat from her forehead. Sinbad and Ja'far looked back to the Torran villagers.

"What…was there something else?" the chief asked. "I told you. We do not trust outsiders. You cannot enter our village."

"Yes, I understand" Sinbad stepped forward. "But I have something to say."

"Then make it quick."

Sakura was a little too consumed for her worry about Masrur and Sharrkan; although she could already guess what Sinbad was going to say. He was the kind of person who wouldn't overlook any injustices easily.

"Slave hunting, persecution, now that I know the truth of how the Torran people have been treated. I can't just overlook it." Sinbad's face became serious, his voice seeming to reveal his true nature. "I want to change this worlds injustices."

"You say you want to change the world?"

"Yes, discrimination, persecution, war…I want to change the world that created such atrocities. To do so, I need your help, for the sake of your village-

The chief seemed to take in Sinbad's words as if it were a venom and refused to let him finish. "You're only saying that to deceive us."

"I'm telling the truth." Sinbad stood strong. His eyes holding that same determined gleam, one that would persist until it engulfed you completely and you were taken by his radiance.

"Stop!" the chief yelled. "We've already decided never to trust an outsider! WE'VE BEEN PERSECUTED, LIED TO AND HAD EVREYTHING TAKEN FROM US. WE HAVE FORCED TO LEAD A HARD LIFE OF OPPRESSION. WHAT COULD YOU UNDERSTAND?"

The chief bellowed, for the villagers to remove them by force, their spears once again held up. Ja'far looked over at Sinbad, what would his next move be now?

"I do understand. No freedom, no dignity…I know it because…" Sinbad reached for the fabric around his shoulders, removing it from his neck, revealing the dark, purplish blemish that reached around his neck in a perfect circle. "I am a former slave."

Sakura's hand unconsciously ruffled the fabric around her own neck, suddenly feeling a little constricted-like the collar was still around her. Sinbad took her hand and brought her to step next to him. "It's not just me, my partner and the Fanalis boy Masrur were slaves too."

The chief's face became soft as he glanced at the marks that both Sakura and Sinbad now displayed around their necks. "That is unmistakably, the scar left by a slave collar. So that means…

"Yes," Ja'far said solemnly, "Our master fell from his life as head of a trading company into slavery. He's regained his freedom now."

"Although, he was so brainwashed for a time being that he lost his sense of self." Sakura added, shaking in anger at the recurring nightmare. It has been quite a while since that nightmare snaked into her defenseless mind while she slept but it was now a memory. Nothing like the dreams that would occur and then vanish the next, merely a moment passing by. It was nothing like that.

"I have learned a lot during my time as a slave." Sinbad's hold on Sakura's hand tightened. Neither enjoyed looking back on those days and they did their best to keep clear of it in conversation.

"Knowing first-hand what it feels like to be used to serve the whims of another. I want to save those who are suffering. I want to change the world where people trample on others underfoot."

There were now soft mutters from the Torran people. Ja'far had voiced softly, wondering if they had gotten through to them. Sakura knew that there was no one before who had heard Sinbad's words and have not been moved. The Torran people would be no exception.

"Masrur and Sharrkan have been gone for a while now." Ja'far said, glancing in the direction of the forest the two had ran off in.

Sakura turned to Sinbad, after he gave a brief nod, assuring her that he would be able to manage things from here on. She let go of his hand and moved towards the forest path, picking up speed the further she got.

'What could they be doing?'

* * *

She stopped when she came across the barren land; clearly once touched by humans-or more specifically, Fanalis. The bottom half of houses made of wood and brick; crumbled and broken, a dry well on one end and a broken fence of wood and wired acting as a barricade, destroyed. She searched for Masrur and Sharrkan, knowing that they couldn't have gotten too far.

Then she heard it, a disturbing array of noises a little further into the distance. She turned her head in the direction of the noise and then the rest of her body, sprinting quickly. She reached the edge of a hill, overlooking a barren land, but she saw the two boys. Sharrkan, holding a black metal sword, sized perfectly for him and then Masrur, his arms were painted red with blood that ran down from circular holes in his arms that seemed to be in a pattern-bite marks. They were fighting fiercely, viciously, against a large number of men. Several were already lying on their backs or fronts, unconscious-she hoped. They were all armed; clearly prepared, so they were either bandits or slave traders.

Sharrkan was taking the men on, moving in a blur, his sword clashing and cutting through the metal of his opponent's, he was agile and moved with a certain coordination and grace. Masrur, using his fists, was wild, with a strength that outmatched fully grown men, his legs breaking through the swords, occasionally grazing his skin. He knocked them back and out.

Sakura's fists clenched at her sides tightly, she took a breath, screaming. "SHARRKAN, MASRUR GET BACK."

The two boy's turned their heads around to Sakura; she had caught their attention as well as the other men.

"Now what?"

"A girl?"

Sakura glared, looking down at the men. "What do you think you're doing? Attacking children!"

There was a man dressed differently to the other men, he wore a black fur wrapping and had a rather menacing appearance with his thick hair and beard. "We're simply collecting our merchandise. We've come for the people of Torran when this young Fanalis and Heliohapt boy attacked my group."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, gathering that they were definitely slave traders. "Well you'll find you've come a long way for nothing then, because you'll be lucky to leave here empty handed if I'm provoked."

Then area filled with laughter, as Sakura expected. She looked specifically to Masrur and Sharrkan.

"You two get back now!"

Masrur jumped over to Sharrkan, grabbed the boy and pulled him away from the men. Heading towards the hill Sakura stood on and to safety.

When she was certain that they wouldn't get caught in the crossfire, she decided to strike. Pooling and concentrating chakra to her first like second nature and now with her seal unleashed, she was able to call upon tremendous strength. Leaping off the edge of the hill, coming down, her fists meeting the ground. Breaking apart and creating a tremor like an earthquake. The ground split apart and swallowing the unfortunate slave traders.

"CHA"

Masrur and Sharrkan stared with wide eyes at the pinkette as she emerged through the cloud of dirt, standing straight with a powerful shine in her eyes.

Sharrkan swallowed hard, whispering to Masrur. "S-She's kinda scary."

"Yeah." Masrur replied; although he sounded more in awe than frightened, he had seen her strength but never to this extent.

* * *

Sinbad, Ja'far and the Torran people all felt a tremor from where they were and a loud crashing noise. They all rushed into the distance, realizing that it was in the direction Masrur, Sharrkan and Sakura had gone in. They were completely stunned to see a large portion of the terrain appear as if an earthquake had decided to travel through the area. On a more stable part of the ground, Sakura, Masrur and Sharrkan; with a group of groggy, semi-conscious men tied together by a strong rope.

"What happened to your arms!?" Sakura exclaimed, seeing the deep marks that looked like he was bitten.

"I was poisoned, so I bit into my arms to remove it." Masrur said.

"Are you two insane!?" Sakura shouted, putting her hands over Masrur's arms to heal the wounds before tending to Sharrkan's injuries. "You two could have gotten killed!"

The two boys told Sakura what had happened with the slave traders. After Masrur saw the sight of the Fanalis village, he was distraught and went into a bit of a frenzy when they found the slave traders and was reckless. Getting himself poisoned by their weapons so Sharrkan stepped in to help him.

"Next time something like this happens, don't act so recklessly! We already have one of those." Sakura said, her face falling. They were very skilled, she had to admit but they were still just children.

"What happened here?" the chief asked. Walking up to the three, with Sinbad and Ja'far who were just as eager to hear the story.

"These people are slave traders." Sharrkan said, smiling as he gestured to the men-who looked like they needed tending to themselves. "Their target was your village, but we've captured them. Now the Torran people are safe!"

Sharrkan and Masrur explained to everyone that they had found a group of slave traders from where they were in one of the deserted Fanalis villages. The slave traders were looking for the Torran village and Masrur went ballistic and began attacking them. When they saw Masrur, they attempted to capture him by using poison but Sharrkan was able to help fend them off with his swordplay and they managed to subdue the group completely when Sakura dealt a single blow-hence the ruined earth.

"So you managed to defeat those slave drivers?" Sinbad asked, looking at the dozen men tied together, back to back. "I'm impressed."

Ja'far gaped at him, "Sin-

"This is not something to praise them for!" Sakura exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at Sinbad which made him take a step back in turn, his hands raised up in surrender. "They were both injured-next time I'm not listening to you. Leave them be-yeah great idea!"

Before the two got into another argument, they heard a gruff chuckle and looked to the Torran chief. "You have my approval. You are different from other outsiders. I've got a good feeling about you."

Sinbad smiled, appreciating the gesture of having reached yet another person's heart. As the sun was setting, the chief granted the group permission to spend the night in the village-an honor that were reserved for none that were not their own brethren.

"Okay, you two," Sakura pointed at Sharrkan and Masrur, after tending to them. "No more running off on your own okay?"

The two boys simply stared at her. Sakura didn't take that kindly and stomped her foot on the ground to create a crater. Which was actually small compared to the one she created a few feet away.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU."

"Yes ma'am!" they said together, jumping a little at the girl's display of strength but it wasn't just her physical ability; but the angry expression on her face mixed in with the deadly aura. One that said you must not disobey her.

Sighing, Sakura sunk to her knees in front of the two boys and flung her arms around to bring them close towards her, each of their heads resting at one of her shoulders.

Masrur blinked a couple of times in surprise; while Sharrkan blushed.

"Listen here, both of you. It doesn't matter if you can't return to where you belong." Sakura said, her voice in a soft whisper. "Because as long as you are with people that care about you; you'll always be home. So don't go running off for something that's right in front of you."

Sakura wondered, if the words that fell from her own lips, would finally get through her ears and reach her own heart. When they turned their backs to the open land that was the Dark Continent, Sakura wiped away a few tears from Masrur's face, kissed his forehead and smiled.

"Let's go home."

* * *

The next morning, they left the Torran village, the chief came to give them their final greets. As they stood outside of the village entrance once again, without a barricade. Sinbad decided to leave the slave traders to the Torran villagers to deal with, as it was their lives that the men were after. The chances of them leaving alive were likely none but no one dared to materialize their thoughts into words.

The chief addressed Sinbad one more time, "Sinbad. We the Torran people approve of this world without conflict, you wish to create. It's very nostalgic. I am happy that someone with the same ideals as our god has finally appeared.

Sinbad looked at the chief, curious. "Are you referring to the ruler who created an actual utopia?"

Sakura remembered this god being mentioned in Sasan to them. Sinbad told the Torran chief that they had heard about him from the Sasan knight king but the name was lost. Though the chief said that the Torran people had a library with knowledge from ancient times.

"He was the great king that ruled 'Alma Torran.'" Sakura frowned, she remembered translating a scroll in Kou that mentioned the name. "The one and only god…

" _King Solomon"_ Sakura spoke in sync with the Torran chief, her voice was distant as if not her own.

Everyone looked at her.

"You know already know his name?" the chief asked Sakura as she touched her lips with hesitance.

"I…I-yes." She finally compromised but there was something about the way she said it that made it seem like she knew more-far more than she should and far more than Sakura herself knew she didn't. Which was why it was a bit unnerving.

'King Solomon.'

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	34. New discoveries,new lessons, new friend?

**Hello everyone; thank you for all the reviews. It always lifts my spirits and makes my days a little easier to read your thoughts of my story. Exams start next week and I have some last minute assignments to hand in, therefore I will not be updating until after my exams near the end of November.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Sinbad, Ja'far, Sakura, Masrur and Sharrkan returned to the Reim's small territory Kartago. In a market place, packed with people. They prepared to depart the Dark Continent at last. Returning with yet another powerful alliance and a prince of Heliohapt under their care.

Ja'far adjusted the strap on his bag, smiling at Sinbad. "Now, let's head back to Balbadd."

"Yeah, it's time to leave the Dark Continent." Sinbad smiled.

"Ready to go?" Sakura patted Masrur's head and he leaned into her touch, then she felt Sharrkan tug on her other hand. He was nervously glancing around, not use to being surrounded by so many people that were walking around. Barely giving them a second glance.

"You all sure took your time." Their heads turned at the sound of the familiar voice-the voice belonging to one of the few individuals who were no longer supposed to be present in the Dark Continent.

Sinbad's face twisted, in a mixture of shock and nervousness. "Serendine!?"

The Parthevia princess had a calm smile on her face; the rest of their companions joined behind her with vague grins on their faces.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sakura asked, laughing and running up to the group. It was a pleasant surprise to see them all here, but it didn't make sense to her why they would still be here.

"You were supposed to be on your way back to Balbadd." Sinbad pointed. He wasn't upset, but he was slightly frazzled that they all decided to remain behind. Apparently, they decided it would be better-financial wise; if they take one ship back together instead of two but Sakura felt on instinct that there was something more to this than that perfectly rational explanation. After all, there was nothing more deceptive than an obvious truth.

Sakura put her hand on her hip, her head titled yet she still held a strong authoritative demeanor. "Is expenses the only reason you guys aren't already on your way back to Balbadd?"

"There's also been a lot going on here." Serendine said, her voice turning soft, her face taking on a rather worried expression. Sakura and Sinbad weren't able to ask any questions but a new voice cut in.

"Hmm, so this is Sinbad? He's kinda flashy isn't he?"

There was a new addition to their already large spectacle of companions and while this one didn't necessarily stand out in a way that Hinahoho or Drakon would, he was definitely unusual. A small boy, with long black hair in a thick braid as long as his body and red eyes rimmed-Sakura hadn't met a lot of people with eyes like that, one of them was an older female ninja from her village, Kurenai. He also carried a small wand with a jewel as red as a ruby but was shaped as a diamond.

He looked at Sinbad, resting his hand on his hip, scrutinizing the older male in a way that seemed to show he had some right to judge and place other's a his own opinion and that didn't sit right with Sinbad. "Well, I don't hate his expression. I'm Judar, nice to meet you."

Juadar's eyes then fell on Sakura, he titled his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowed together. "Let me guess, you're Sakura right?"

Cheeky, was her first thought when the boy addressed her.

Sakura gave a small, wary smile, feeling somewhat disassembled by this boy; who was looking at her like she was some complicated puzzle that he had been forced to solve. "That's right and it's nice to meet you too Judar."

"You sure don't look like much, but the rukh really like you so you've got to be the real thing." Judar stated, pointing to Sakura with little concern. "You're definitely an interloper."

Sakura stiffened although she was wondering how this young boy-a complete stranger would know about her. This set a storm brewing within the confines of her mind. Now focused beyond Judar's initial appearance; Sakura started to understand why she thought he was unusual. The rukh around him and their reaction to him; it was a lot like when they were around Yunan but at the same time, there was something darker about him. Even though he was only child, she could feel something very off and it made her uneasy; although she couldn't quite see what it was.

Sinbad already had some issues with the boy as well, but it didn't go further than his behavior and attitude towards everyone.

"What's up with this brat!? He's awfully rude!" Sinbad came to Judar, only to slap his hands on the boy's face and stretch his face, ignoring his cries of discomfort and pain.

"Sinbad!" Serendine and Sakura protested; both for different reasons. Although neither were able intervene because Judar had fended off Sinbad on his own. With a proud, rather conceited smirk on his face; he brought up his wand and flicked his wrist. When Sinbad felt a blistering heat, he pulled back from Judar, or more like repelled. There was a transparently bright sphere now surrounding Judar; keeping him from the outside and all that would seek to harm him.

"A borg!?" Ja'far exclaimed, knowingly yet surprised. He knew a bit about magicians and the little that he knew, included a magical shield known as a borg. "But only magicians are able to use it…"

Judar scoffed at Ja'far, the borg around him vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "Hmph, Naturally. I am a world creating magician, possessor of the strongest magoi. I'm a magi!"

On their travel's, they had heard of magi from the countries they had visited. The legendary magicians that have appeared in history. It always seemed to be a topic of interest amongst many. Sinbad already suspected Yunan of being a magi. They were still a bit of a mystery though but it was obvious they had a great magnitude of power. With what Sakura understood, one of those abilities was to summon dungeons as well as transfer themselves into other worlds.

'Does he have a Looking Glass too?' Sakura wondered.

She began getting an uncomfortable sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. No, she couldn't ask that question, she shouldn't. Not after everything she had been through with Sinbad; it wouldn't be right. She clutched her top tightly in her fist, she made her decision, yet there was still that trickling pain and guilt that threatened to break through her resolve just as it did when she had decided to leave Sinbad previously. The feelings remained, even though her decision had revered. There was no right or wrong-only her choice.

Sinbad raised an eyebrow, skeptical as he pointed to Judar. Disbelief etching in his tone. "And this kid is one of them?"

Judar didn't take kindly to Sinbad's skepticism. I'll prove to you that I'm a real Magi."

Serendine protested as Judar came up to her and touched the sword where Zepar's metal vessel was. The eight pointed star reacted, glowing a bright light before vanishing and with a puff of smoke the djinn Zepar appeared before them, arms folded peering down at all of the shocked civilians that were now clearing the area in fear. Their screams lasting until their figures were completely out of sight.

Sakura was gaping, her finger shook as she pointed up to Zepar. "W-W-W-What?"

" _This is a power of a magi my king." Stolas said to her "They have the ability to generate enough magoi to summon us in our physical forms."_

"Well what's happened?" Zepar asked the exact question everyone was thinking as well as they stared up at the djinn with awe struck expressions. "To make me appear in my true form…Where did you get such a vast quantity of magoi?"

Judar waved to the djinn in front of him; the way his tiny hand moved around was a rather comical sight but no one was able to pick up on it because of the situation itself that overruled the settings conditions.

"Zepar. Over here."

When Zepar's eyes landed on the young child, he seemed to take a different stature. Holding his hand across his chest and leaning forward; bowing to Judar-yet another sight that would have been seen as comical. "Magi. So it was you."

Judar stood in front of Zepar, a prideful expression on his face that made him seem older than he actually was. Zepar told the baffled group then that Judar was in fact an actual magi. "A magi is a great magician loved by the rukh. All djinn greatly respect the magi and obey their wishes."

Puffing out his chest, Judar grinned widely with Zepar behind him, his hand outstretched to gesture towards the boy.

"So you get it now?" Judar gloated.

Zepar held his chin, his face taking on a surprised expression and then worry. "But magi…the rukh around you…Could it be…"

Sakura frowned; so the djinn noticed something odd about this boy's rukh as well? She wasn't able to ask him because Judar then waved his wand and Zepar turned to smoke, vanishing back into Serendine's sword.

"Well you get the point." Judar gave a tight clenched smile, "I'm a real magi."

' _There's no doubt about it.' Beleth confirmed._

"And? Why is a great Magi like you here?" Ja'far asked, glaring down at Judar. It seemed that he did not like the impression Judar had given them either. Being an ex-assassin he had developed keen instincts and something was telling Ja'far that Judar was no someone to overlook easily simply because he was a child. That was something he could relate to with the boy.

"That's obvious." Judar pointed his wand in Ja'far's direction. "I came to see the 'king'."

"King?" asked Sinbad.

"Don't misunderstand. I don't mean you, I mean this women here." Judar grasped Serendine's hand, making her a little lopsided because of their height difference. "You know that Magi create dungeons to choose kings. Serene conquered Zepar's dungeon. A dungeon I created. Which means this women is my king."

'So he summoned Zepar's dungeon, which means Zepar wouldn't have a shard.' Sakura thought

" _No my king; he is no the magi that summoned us." Gaap confirmed._

'I know.'

Sakura had figured it out a while ago. The convenient appearances. The wide array of knowledge about the Looking glass and about her. Yunan possessed the attributes of a magi. It was also a constant pull in the back of Sakura's mind that was telling her that he was a magi.

Serendine seemed taken aback by Judar's declaration; although it seemed to be more like hesitance when she looked at him. As though she was already informed about all of this but she didn't expect it to be voiced. "I told you, I haven't accepted your offer yet!"

"What? You're still complaining. Just give it up and let's go back to Parthevia already. I'll make you queen!"

That stopped all other questions, everyone rounded to the matter on Parthevia immediately.

"Go back to Parthevia? What's this about?" Sakura asked, folding her arms and frowning. "You can't possibly expect to take Serendine there now."

"Exactly." Ja'far agreed. "You're only a kid. Things in Parthevia have quieted down thanks to the ceasefire treaty…"

"Shut up freckles."

Ja'far looked like his old assassins bloodlust was seeping towards Judar, but the magi didn't seem to pay any heed to it.

"It's you who doesn't understand anything." Judar folded his arms, "Magi can feel the world's abnormalities and I am getting a terrible aura around Parthevia. And besides I've seen it all too. Their ceasefire treaty is only for show. They are still invading nearby islands and raiding villages within the country. Something like a purge? Those who oppose the people in power are either brain washed or turned into some kinda weaird monster, it's terrible."

Judar didn't sound too concerned as he explained to the group the situation in Parthevia and that was not helping to lower their level of doubt about the boy. However, it still left them with a permanent mark in their minds on the situation in Parthevia. What was really going on there?

"And this women," Judar put his hand on his hip and gestured to Serendine. "Isn't she a Parthevian princess? All this is happening in your country but you're not going to anything about it? No matter how many times I tell you, your response is always "I can't do anything without telling Sinbad and Sakura." Judar's red eyes now fell on the pair. "So, there's something in want to ask you both. You'll have my help, so let's take back Parthevia. How about it?"

The memory of the trial in Zepar's dungeon was still fresh in her mind and Sakura felt as if their fight with words was beginning to materialize before her eyes and she didn't want that. She had managed to settle the fire of her pain with Sinbad's reassurance as well as the thoughts that the chances of Serendine's suggestion never coming to reality.

"Hey brat." Sinbad called JUdar.

"I'm not a brat!" Judar pouted, "I'm the magi Judar."

"Judar…Let's say that Parthevia is really going through an internal purge like you said. If that's true I can't just overlook it." Sakura felt her breath hitch, she turned to Sinbad with her eyes wide but she kept her jaw tightened. "But I also can't trust you immediately either. You're a magi right? A magi should be able to fly or disappear in an instant." Sinbad said thinking about Yunan. "The Magi I met before you could use his magic to do these things. You're a great magician aren't you? So why don't you just teleport us to Parthevia?"

Sakura wasn't certain what Sinbad was trying to accomplish by edging Judar on as he was. He really wasn't good with kids, he seemed to know how to anger them and he didn't have much paternal skills either. Must have been the price for having all those women skills.

Judar was steaming, his cheeks puffed and his face turning red. "You're making Fun of me! Fine I'll show you!" Judar held up his wand and the rukh started fluttering around it, gathering magoi, turning into light that gathered at the tip of his wand. "Watch me, witness the power of a real magi!"

It was only a second later that the light vanished, they were expecting to be somewhere else but everyone saw that they were still in the cleared out area of Reim's territory.

Judar held out his hands, a calmed expression on his face. "Or so I thought. I'd show you, but I don't wanna."

"HUH!?" Ja'far exclaimed, "But you just said you would!"

"It'll wear me out." Judar told them, completely calmed now and disinterested. "And it's not my job to take you anywhere."

Sinbad glared blankly at Judar, confirming now that he honestly did not trust him at all. Sakura didn't think to be weary of a child like this, he behaved in a way that gave belief that he was spoilt, always getting what he wanted and never knowing no. However, there was something about this that troubled her still. Why did Judar decide to appear before the group? Was he on his own? Or did someone send him? There were too many blanks.

"Sooner or later, you'll definitely realize you need my power." Judar stated confidently. That left a trickle of worry creep into Sakura. He was very assured, but there was dark glimmer in his eyes that sent a chill down her spine.

"Okay, now I am getting annoyed." Sinbad didn't make it three steps to Judar before Sakura grasped his shoulder and pulled him back before he started pinching the boy again. In a lot of ways Sinbad had his own childish tendencies.

Ja'far came up to them, whispering. "What should we do about him?"

Sinbad looked at Judar, his eyes narrowed in on him in debate. "We can't just ignore him."

Sakura folded her arms, shifting her weight on one foot. Watching as Judar pulled on Serendine's hand in an impatient manner. "There's also the information he gave about Parthevia and he isn't lying about being a magi either; although….there is something very off with him. I agree with Ja'far on this."

"We can use him." Sinbad told them, not bothering to keep his voice hushed since everyone else seemed occupied. "It would be best to have him stay where we can keep an eye on him."

Sakura wasn't so sure about using this boy for any purposes, since they didn't even know his agenda. For a child, he seemed to be far more of an enigma that anyone should be and that included her.

"Serendine," Sinbad called the princess; only speaking once he knew he had her attention. "Sorry but we'll leave him to you. After all, he claims to be your magi. Please look after him."

Nodding, Serendine accepted to look after Judar for the time being, at least this way they would be able to take some time to think about what to do next once they returned to Balbadd and Judar would be kept under watch. "I understand, if anything happens, I'll report back to you."

Judar was grinning brightly now, "You should've just come with me in the first place."

Stomping over to Judar, Sinbad grabbed the magi by his cheeks and pulled hard. He started fussing and flaying his arms around. "Shut up, we still don't trust you!"

"Sinbad stop it!" Sakura exclaimed, pulling him away and holding him back as he dropped Judar before he was able to summon another borg. "Magi or not, he's still a kid."

"He's a brat!"

"I'm not a brad and don't call me a kid, Interloper."

Judar rubbed his red cheeks, frowning at Sinbad and he-in exchange glared back at Judar. Sakura rolled her eyes, walking up to Judar. He looked at her, cocking an eyebrow but Sakura just put her hands on both of his cheeks. Judar felt a comforting warmth on his face as Sakura poured chakra to heal the sting on his cheeks before pulling away.

"There, now will the two of you finally settle down?" Sakura asked, standing with her hands on her hips.

Judar pouted with a frown, rubbing his cheek. "That's a weird power, but what should I expect right? Interloper."

"My names Sakura, feel free to use it." The pinkette smiled. Though it was to mask her own disturbance. Judar was a magi, so perhaps he would know something about interlopers that Sakura didn't already, she wanted to stay off the topic of the Looking glass, but she didn't have it anymore; so would it really be so bad to find out more about it?

Then there was another issue.

She felt as if she had been referenced as an interloper too many times during this journey and looking back to Sinbad, he may have picked up on the fact that there was more to it than she was letting on.

Sakura and Sinbad watched as Serendine left with Judar, keeping a firm grip on his hand.

"Sakura, Sinbad." Drakon waited for the two to turn around and face him. Sahel and Tamir in front of him. When Judar was out of sight with Serendine, Drakon pulled Sakura and Sinbad to the side to speak with them. He told them that what Judar had said about the purge in Parthevia was likely to be true. When Drakon had fled the country with the princes; they had been chased after. By one of the Four Heavenly generals of Parthevia; who had somehow transformed but at that same time Drakon had taken on his own transformation as well because of his household vessel. So he was able to take on the general and escape.

"The problem is that this incident implies that Parthevia has already started to infuse dungeon creatures with human beings." Drakon held up his talon as he spoke. "If they turned an entire army division or worse all of the citizens of Parthevia into monsters…"

"That would give Parthevia extreme military Prowess." Sakura finished, as calmly as she could. Although she had gone completely rigid; along with Sinbad who had reached the same terrifying conclusion on his own.

"Lady Serendine must have realized this as well. A purge to create more of these monsters…So when it comes to Parthevia we should remain extremely cautious."

"I understand…" Sinbad assured. He glanced to Sakura, their eyes meeting. "Let's investigate what's going on in Parthevia."

* * *

King Rashid stared down at his familiar visitors from his throne; Sakura and Sinbad crouched down and kneeling in respect yet it was a sign of little representation compared to strangers. After nearly half a month; Sinbad and his comrades returned to Ballbadd. Sakura and Sinbad took to the royal palace to tell King Rashid about their latest journey and what they had gained from the new voyage. Their alliance with Heliohapt, prince Sharrkan now under their care and Serendine earning the power of a djinn (minus the details as to how she accomplished that). They mentioned the Torran people and that they were unfortunately unable to find any land stable enough to create a country of their own. To which king Rashid apologized as they weren't able to accomplish their initial goal, but it was nothing that they were concerned about because they had not returned empty handed. However, they stopped on the matter of Judar and Parthevia, which had a completely different light to it than the rest of their report.

"About the situation in Parthevia…" Rashid trailed, serious. "I've heard that ever since the ceasefire treaty, domestic affairs have stabilized. I haven't heard anything about purges."

Sinbad's face fell, his eyes glancing to the wide clearings that overlooked the city of Ballbadd but he was not looking at the scenery. "I see."

It was understandable that Sinbad was concerned about his home country, even if he wasn't able to return to it. It was the place he was born; there was a bond which compelled you to naturally take an interest even if you meant to leave it behind. Sakura understood this better than anyone.

"If you're worried, you should go see how it is for yourselves." The king's words halted both of them as they looked back to him.

"Mentor…."

"Right after Reim, Parthevia is one of our largest trading partners." King Rashid rubbed his chin in an aloof manner. "It wouldn't be unusual for me to visit Parthevia on a diplomatic trip. And after listening to your story, I think it might be beneficial to visit as soon as possible."

Sakrua and Sinbad continued to stare at the king; their bodies still but their minds racing, their ears eagerly perked, waiting for the climax that would catch them completely.

"All that's left is to put together my escort for the trip. And since the rumors of Parthevia's purge hint potential danger, I'll have to take the best of the best with me." King Rashid smirked down at the two. "So, Sinbad, Sakura, will you accompany me as part of my escort?"

Neither were able to respond, their minds still a little behind in the race of reaction. So King Rashid continued to speak.

"I'll even take you to meet him…The current emperor of the Parthevia Empire."

* * *

Sakura and Sinbad did not have much of a debate about whether or not they would accept the offer to join the king's escort to Parthevia; as Sinbad had a burning curiosity that wouldn't be satisfied without visual aid and Sakura would be able to go with him and hopefully obscure trouble's vision from Sinbad. King Rashid informed the two previously that although he was taking them to meet with the current emperor; they would not be able to speak with him as they would only be acting as his body guards. However, the current emperor-if Sakura remembered correctly, would be Serendine's brother and it wouldn't hurt to access his condition as well as the countries while they were there. Sakura had hoped to put the princess's mind at ease.

Those few days before their departure went by too quickly and Ja'far had caught Sinbad and Sakura during their last minute packing. They had agreed it would be best not to tell anyone until it was closer to their departure date and there was less time for their friends to try and change their minds about the journey using logic and highly possible scenarios.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE BOTH GOING TO PARTHEVIA!?"

Sakura cringed as she tucked away the last of her necessities into her voyage back and closed it. She looked over at Sinbad, who was also finishing his packing, unfortunately for them Ja'far chose that time to step into the room. Sinbad explained the story to him and Ja'far had the regular reaction whenever his master made (at least in his point of view) brash decisions without informing them and Sakura being in on it didn't help either.

"We depart tomorrow. I'll entrust the company to you until then, Ja'far." Sinbad kept his back to the boy, stuffing his already bulging bag but Ja'far wasn't going to let go.

"That's so soon!" Ja'far's attention fell on Sakura now; the two were usually always in agreement with one another when it came to stands against Sinbad's decisions but it seemed that Sakura was taking a different post now for whatever reason, which he wanted to understand.

"Sakura, why would you let him go back to Parthevia? And what's more-you're going too!?"

Sakura tried to remained indifferent, "Well; we're only going as part of the king's escort. It's not like we'll be on our own and besides this is a good chance to find out what's really happening in Parthevia. I think it's better than relying on rumors-why not just confirm them for ourselves."

Sakura did her best to keep to the logical side of the argument in order to keep advantage and she knew it was effective because Ja'far seemed to be swaying from his own decision but that didn't mean he was completely agreeing with their discretion. Before he could get another word in on it though, Serendine and Judar entered the room.

"So what I told you got you all worried huh? That's why we should've just gone when I said so." The young magi stated.

Ja'far immediately went on the defensive at Judar's sudden appearance. "We still don't trust you, you know!"

It wasn't as if they should be surprised anymore since they invited the young magi back to the company in order to keep an eye on him. Sakura didn't know if that tactic was for the best but it would have to do for now when their options were limited in terms of what to do with him.

"But he's going right?" Judar asked demandingly. "Don't hide it freckles!"

"Stop calling me freckles!"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura turned away from Ja'ar and Judar as they started arguing to take up her light luggage. Judar had to put up a borg as Ja'far brought out his blades and wires to wrap around it in futile. Sakura found it ironic that they fought all the time, as Judar's own arrogance in personality had a similar styles to Ja'far's previous self. She thought it might be a trigger in some way.

"So, you're both really going to Parthevia aren't you?" Serendine's soft voice, sounded like bells that overpowered all noise.

Sinbad looked solemn when he confirmed that they were going and then attempted to lift whatever thoughts were most likely to be weighing on the princess's mind, such as the fact that Sindria was hosting them. "Don't worry. I'll just observe the situation. I won't say anything about any of you."

"That's not what worries me." Serendine said, truthful. "I just want you both to be careful while in Parthevia. That man is there. You must avoid him at all cost."

They already knew who Serendine was referring to, the general of Parthevia, the one who initiated the coup, Drakon's brother. Barbarossa.

"I understand." Sinbad said readying to leave, with Sakura following behind him when Serendine called out again.

"One more thing…" She paused, holding her hands together. "My brother…"

Sakura walked up to Serendine and took her hands that felt as if they were enduring a tremor. She waited until Serendine met her eyes before speaking. "We'll find out whatever we can about your brother, no matter how small." Sakura gave Serendine's hand a small squeeze before smiling gently. "So please, don't make that face. It's unbecoming for a princess."

Serendine's heart gave a sudden jolt, surprising her but Sakura's words and reminder of who she was, covered her like a protective cloak against the cold weather that was her worries and kept them from touching her. Her cheeks grew warm from the sudden heat, but she smiled back at the other pinkette.

"Of course."

* * *

It was warm night that night and it only sought to help keep everyone awake as a summers day would; which included Sinbad and Sakura. As they lay in bed, sleep unable to enter their minds which were already full of thoughts for tomorrow's departure. No method's seemed to put them at ease. Not even holding each other, only forcing them to shut their eyes as an attempt to put their partner at ease and to rest.

"This is ridiculous." Sakura snapped, shuffling out of bed to move to the window, leaning on the windowsill. The cool breeze touched her skin and she felt herself a little less flustered, the frustration seeming to drift off.

Sinbad sat up as well, leaning against the many pillows on the bed. "You know, you don't have to come with me."

Sakura looked at Sinbad in a manner that would have had any man get on his knees and repent for whatever crimes he had committed without knowing the source of the accusing look and continue until he hopefully found it and was spared. Thankfully, Sinbad knew he was at a closer distance to the door should the need arise for him to run if he pushed Sakura too far.

"What exactly do you mean by that Sinbad?"

"If you're going to worry yourself like this then maybe it's better if you stay behind. It's like you told Ja'far, I would only be observing from the sidelines anyway so there shouldn't be any trouble."

All that had earned Sinbad was a painful glare, "Yes, if you were anyone else that would be the case; but you've got this constant pull that attracts trouble wherever you go. And Parthevia is bound to be the best place for trouble to find you."

Sinbad shook his head, attempting to appear lighthearted. "You're worrying over nothing."

Sakura watched warily as he stood up and walked towards her; she quickly turned her back to him after seeing the look in his eyes. So far with the Parthevia case, he had somehow been better behaved but it seemed that a still moment had finally set in and he was taking it.

"You can say it's nothing, but you don't have the best record for avoiding mishaps." Sakura stated. "I didn't want to remind Ja'far or chances are he'd still be compiling a list on why we shouldn't go."

Sakura tensed when Sinbad put his warm hands on her shoulders, beginning to massage them. "If you were so concerned about this, then why didn't you argue against it days ago?"

"Because." Sakura huffed, keeping herself stiff to avoid leaning towards Sinbad's tempting touch. "You obviously really want to go and I doubt that anything I or anyone else say would have stopped you. Also, Parthevia is your homeland and I don't want to keep you from the chance to go back to it." Sakura's thoughts were becoming blurred as her mouth started moving without her thinking. "If I had the chance to see my home again, I would want to do the same."

Sinbad could tell she didn't mean to blurt out that last statement, because she tensed immediately after she said it. He chose to overlook it this one time for her sake, now wasn't the time to bring it up or they were bound to get into another fierce argument. There was still so much he wanted to know about Sakura and that included the reason behind her being referred to as an interloper, not only by a djinn but by Judar as well. They clearly knew something about Sakura that he didn't.

"So you want me to go but at the same time you're worried about something happening to me over there; I still don't understand. Please explain your conflict of interest." Sinbad said, but he might have sounded a little too nonchalant and that manner set Sakura off in a bad way. She pulled back from Sinbad and spun around.

"Because I nearly lost you once and I don't want that to happen again!" Sakura exclaimed, slamming her hands on Sinbad's chest without her usual enhanced strength. Sakura had been thinking about this since they agreed to accompany King Rashid. Deep within, Sakura had been set against letting Sinbad go to Parthevia, he was wanted for treason. If a rogue ninja was found returning to their village, they certainly wouldn't receive a warm welcome and she doubted that the situation would be any different for Sinbad if he was discovered in Parthevia. She had kept those thoughts locked away, since she was going with him but the suggestion from that she stay behind had been the key to unlocking her worried thoughts.

"You're not as untouchable as you think Sinbad." Sakura sniffed, clutching his top. She felt Sinbad caress her hair and felt his chest vibrate when he chuckled.

"That's why I have you, right Sakura?"

She pressed her head against his chest to hide her smile. "Idiot."

* * *

In addition to being part of the king's escort, Sakura and Sinbad had to dress the part in the Balbadd's royal guards uniform. A long cream robe with a thick black sash around the waist to hold it together, creating an opening along the collar bone. A piece of fabric wrapped around their head and traditionally, the men's hair would be in a ponytail. Sinbad only had a small part of his hair and Sakura had disregarded the head wrap completely since she didn't have enough hair to tie back. They only carried on them the metal vessels that wouldn't be visible in their new outfits, so Sinbad had left Baal in his belongings and Sakura had to leave behind Beleth and Gaap.

The journey was almost too short for them; at least that's how it felt once they actually arrived at the port to Parthevia. The city in the background were dome structure buildings stretched for miles. Growing the further you looked like they had taken on one large structure in themselves.

Sinbad didn't say a word, simply continued to stare out at the city while they got off the boat. Sakura wondered what it must feel like to be able to return to your homeland after all this time. That didn't mean they should let their guard down though; it was one of the reasons she had joined Sinbad. Rashid asked him how it felt to be back in his homeland, Sinbad said that he couldn't really place how he felt other than nostalgic.

"Don't forget Sinbad, you're a wanted man in this country. You must not reveal your identity nor attract attention to yourself.

"I won't." Sinbad assured Rashid.

"Of course that's going to be easy with purple hair and golden eyes to blend right in; right Sinbad?" Sakura asked sarcastically with a smile, to which Sinbad pinched her cheeks in response.

"No more than pink hair and green eyes."

Sakura took a moment to bask in the new land to her that was Parthevia. It was as though there was something magnificent about arriving in the country where Sinbad had originated from. It was like coming to a part in the story that makes the reader eager for a great reveal of some kind, even though it's more likely not to happen and be just like any other chapter.

"We've been waiting your arrival, King Rashid." There were soon new arrivals at the port coming to greet King Rashid and his escort. Amongst them, there was the man who walked ahead of the others and that had greeted Rashid first. He had short green hair, with bangs that nearly covered his sharp eyes, he wore gold colored armor and Sakura immediately took to note that his appearance resembled Drakon's.

"It's been a long time, welcome to Parthevia."

Although they had never actually met him in person, both Sinbad and Sakura knew instantly that the person with this intimidating aura that seemed to fill up an area was the very person Serendine had warned them to avoid at all costs.

Sakura put a hand on Sinbad's shoulder, whispering to him. "Is that…

"General of the Parthevia Empire Barbarossa." Sinbad said, out loud due to his own shock.

Barbarossa looked at the two, they both tensed when he chuckled. His voice didn't seem capable of reaching a tone that was of comfort. "My apologies. It's been a while since I've been called that."

Rashid decided to take that moment to step in, as both Sinbad and Sakura appeared to be having trouble keeping their composure.

"He's retired from military service and is now serving as the leader of the independent nationalist party."

Sinbad was hardly able to choke out his words through the shock; Barbarossa was now a leader of a political party that was chosen by popular vote to control the government on behalf of the people.

It was something completely different from the traditional monarchy system that Parthevia had been under before. The political structure of the country had changed after the ceasefire. When the emperor 'suddenly' died from illness and the princess disappeared, the young prince of Parthevia was enthroned. Reim and other foreign countries were demanding reparations from Parthevia after the treaty and this put the country's citizens in a very uncomfortable position. Then Barbarossa stepped in and converted Parthevia to a constitutional monarchy and due to this new reorganization, new political parties started to form. Through elections, the countries citizens were given more influence over the government.

When hearing the one side of the story as it had been set; it would seem like the perfect way for Parthevia's struggles to come to an end. However, that wasn't the only side of the story but Sakura and Sinbad weren't going to stupidly blurt it out and create anymore unnecessary complications when they had to be careful on this journey.

"Yes, I have retired from my role as general and formed a political party." Barbarossa confirmed, a calm smile, yet it sent a shiver down Sakura's spine. The backdrop of this man's tone had a condescending sense to it. "Now I'm merely acting as a member of this party, so I'm nothing more than an average citizen."

King Rashid gave a friendly laugh, informing Sinbad and Sakura that the Independent Nationalist party had won by a landslide in the elections and that the leader of that party AKA Barbarossa actually had tremendous influence on the government. It made more sent to them hearing it like that now. Barbarossa seemed to humbly disagree with that notion, saying that their political party was merely a group of like-minded citizens who wanted to change the country.

"A Parthevia Empire for the Parthevia people; that is our aim as the Independent Nationalist party." Barbarossa's eyes fell on the two youngest members of Rashid's escort. "By the way aren't you going to introduce us King Rashid? I'd like to meet your young escorts."

Sinbad and Sakura jolted back a little, peering at one another warily as Rashid averted his eyes attempting to appear aloof. However it didn't seem like it was going to matter whether or not he gave the introductions.

"Even if you don't tell me, I already know who they are." Barbarossa looked directly at the two rigid teens now. "Dungeon conqueror's Sinbad and Sakura. I've heard a great deal about the both of you."

Sakura could understand how Barbarossa would know about Sinbad, but how would he know about her? He made it sound as if he knew just as much as she did and that didn't sit well with her.

"Don't panic." Barbarossa told Sinbad. "I'm no longer a solider, so I have no interest in capturing you. On the contrary, I am rather proud of your accomplishments as a fellow Parthevian. To drive someone as accomplished as you out of your home country would be unthinkable. I welcome you, Sinbad."

* * *

Barbarossa had to be playing at some kind of angle. That's all Sakura could conclude but she didn't know where it would be beneficial for him. Although for now, she and Sinbad would just keep on high alert as they played the part as the King of Balbadd's escort. They were able to get a closer look at Parthevia beyond the rumors they have heard from others. When they entered the city however, Sinbad did nothing to hide his surprise at the state of this new Parthevia. When they entered through the city gates, Sinbad had to ask if this was really Parthevia. There was a light atmosphere, with people line up behind boxes of food and supplies and on the other side, another line of people with woven bags and sacks being filled.

"What do you think of how Parthevia has changed?" Barbarossa asked. "It still probably has a long way to go compared to Balbadd but life is starting to return to our country. All this is thanks to the food rationing."

"Rationing?" Sakura and Sinbad asked simultaneously.

"Isn't rationing usually only implemented during war?" Sakura asked.

Sinbad agreed, since he had been in Parthevia during a war when there was rationing, he wanted to ask the same question.

"It's because the war is over." Barbarossa pointed out as they walked through the streets. Explaining that there was a devastation to the land because of the war and the country were therefore no longer able to sustain itself so they had to import goods from other countries. Then, they would distribute these goods in portions equally amongst its citizens to keep them from hunger. Along with food, the party also provided medical services, homes and jobs to those in need. By dividing everything so that no one has too much or too little, they were able to start building the road to stability. Apparently, that was the case for everyone in Babarossa's nationalist party.

While Barbarossa was being thanked by a number of Parthevia people who had gathered their rations; all Sakura and Sinbad were able to do for that time was watch in awe.

"He's…not what I pictured." Sakura whispered to Sinbad who nodded in agreement.

"Well, Serendine would naturally put him in a bad light given what he has done but even so…" Sinbad trailed as he watched Barbarossa greeted a rather bashful new member of his party. "He seems to be a great leader who knows what he's doing."

"I won't say I don't agree, but…" Sakura trailed, looking at Barbarossa's back as they walked through the streets. The people around them made way gladly, happy to be seeing the former Parthevia general. King Rashid pointed out the large number of supporters that Barbarossa's party had, by directing them to a colored band they wore that symbolized that party.

"Now you can see just how much influence he has." Rashid told them. "All of this is something he has accumulated in only a short about of time. That's the kind of man that Barbarossa is."

Barbarossa interjected then. "I'm just good at rhetoric. I can't even begin to influence economics like you. The ones that are truly amazing are merchants. That's what I think."

"I don't think so." Sinbad then spoke, in a solemn tone that Sakura noted he would take on when he discovered something like this. A great knowledge that he sorely lacked, he would internally berate himself for not knowing something he couldn't help but not know; it was so much different when he was just starting out as a merchant. He was much more optimistic, but after all of the past events, his eyes had been forcibly opened to the true cruelties of the world.

"After all, merchants can't do anything besides trade their goods. If you want to regulate laws and be able to change the lives of your countries citizens…being a merchant is not enough." Sinbad paused before speaking again. "I want to learn to govern like you."

Barbarossa smiled and looked to one of his party members, "What an honor, if that's the case. I'll give you these."  
The member presented Sinbad with several neatly wrapped up scrolls. They were Barbarossa's literary works. He had composed several volumes of his own fundamental ideology, political views of the Independent Nationalist party. Barbarossa did add that they may not be as exciting as Sinbad's tales. Barbarossa then left the group, telling them that they would continue the conversation the following day.

* * *

Sinbad and Sakura spent most of their evening reading through Barbarossa's works, his ideology and use of propaganda. They were both under the covers of the bed in Sinbad's modest yet comfortable room, an oil lamp on the nightstand to keep sufficient light for the to read. Though they were both so close, it was like Sinbad had set an invisible barrier, formed from his own envy that he wanted to mask.

Sakura ran her hand through Sinbad's loose hair, as he laid on his stomach reading through the scrolls. "What's going through your mind?"

"It's amazing," Sinbad murmured, keeping his eyes on the ink of the scroll. "Barbarossa…despite being unrelated to the royal family, he was able to unify to the country to this extent."

Sakura frowned, drawing back her hand. "You're thinking about what Serendine said about 'blood' being necessary to rule?"

Hearing the crumpling of the scroll, Sakura shifted a little, waiting for Sinbad to reply. "This is just so new. So far, I've only been thinking of absolute monarchy."

"Oh that's right, this is your first encounter with actual politics." Sakura stated, noticing Sinbad's frown after she spoke. She wasn't wrong though. Throughout these years, he had only been focused on diplomatic matters, so this was an entirely new area and he was a bit of a novice. "Well not like I can really talk, I'm not very informed about these sort of things either."

"I just feel like I really don't know anything after reading all of this."

Sakura sighed softly, leaning back against the headrest and pillows, crossing her arms. "Since when has that stopped you? If you don't know, then you'll learn but you can't get this discouraged."

"I'm not." Sinbad said, though his tone told her differently. He didn't have these wavering moments either when he started out as a merchant, but as he became older, it seems he began growing more into the mind of an adult, losing his childish optimism. Sakura was actually missing that.

"Well; I say that you should see this as a chance."

Sinbad gave her a look, waiting for her to explain. She peaked through her eyelashes at the violet haired boy. "I'm saying that-although I know Serendine won't agree with this. You might want to consider this as another opportunity for a diplomatic conquest."

"You're saying I should try to form an alliance with Parthevia?" He sounded quite disbelieving. "A lot of our friends consider him the enemy."

"You don't break bread with you friends," Sakura stated. "I'm not telling you to completely trust Barbarossa, but if it will bring you closer to achieving your goal then wouldn't it be beneficial? Besides Parthevia is your home country and Barbarossa did say you were no longer a fugitive. You could even maybe ask if there's any land for you to build your country."

Although personally, the thought of becoming allies with someone like Barbarossa set a thick knot in Sakura's center but she had seen the look on Sinbad's face when he saw his homeland after so long.

"Sakura…"

"Don't take me too seriously." Sakura then turned her back to Sinbad, resting her head against the pillow and closing her eyes. "It was just a thought."

* * *

The Parthevia Royal palace was built of several large dome buildings that carried in size, however similarly to Balbadd, there was a single large dome building the center that tied the entire architectural design together. The throne room was a wide open space-like many Sakura and Sinbad had seen before. There were pillars lining the entrance and around in four squares with a large throne in the center. Sitting on the throne, with two still statue-like guards on both sides, was a very young boy, a child, with long blond hair, pale eyes, dressed in robes that were a few sizes too big, holding a golden staff as long as his body and wearing a crown that must have been lined with Velcro because it looked physically too heavy for him to bear on his head. This was Serendine's younger brother, Parthevia Empire, 32nd emperor, Ceylan Dikumenowlz Du Parthevia.

"I have brought King Rashid, your highness." Barbarossa addressed the young boy respectfully.

Sakura and Sinbad peered up at the young boy, his eyes as dull eyes reminded Sakura of Sharrkan's when she had first met him. At least she was going to have something to tell Serendine that wouldn't set her off in a bad way.

It was all explained to them before this meeting. While Ceylan was enthrone, being the only remaining royal in Parthevia, in the current system, all political power resided with congress. So in actual fact, the monarchy didn't weigh in heavily on the decisions made for the country presently. Barbarossa had pointed that while it seemed unfair, it was for Ceylan's own protection. He was just a symbolic emperor.

'Serendine's not going to like this.' Sakura could only think that after hearing what Barbarossa said. They were still playing on the story that Serendine had gone 'missing' and that the king had died of illness. Sakura realized that they Sinbad was in a very precarious position right now. They were balancing on a line between, with Serendine on one side and Barbarossa on the other. The trick was making sure that they didn't tilt too far on one end.

King Rashid and the young emperor began speaking. Their tones and expressions were light when they greeted.

"King Rashid…you look well." Ceylan said, "Your help providing goods for our citizens has been invaluable…our restoration is all thanks to your country…"

Sinbad seemed baffled by the boy's composure, but he realized that because he was only acting as a symbol he did not have the actual burdens and worries of a ruler. Nor should he for such a young child.

Rashid and Ceylan's conversation was brief, because a few minutes later, the young boy broke into a fit of heavy coughs that were far from regular itching throat-least from what Sakura could decipher. It was very strained, forcing its way out involuntarily and it sounded painful as well. No doubt that the boy must have been sick.

"We'll have to put our discussion on hold. Take him to the doctor." Barbarossa instructed and the guards immediately went to help the boy from the throne and down the short flight of stairs leading up to it. Barbarossa then apologized to Rashid for them having to cut the meeting short, but there was no real harm, a formality that could easily be overlooked.

"I wonder what's wrong with him." Sakura said to Sinbad, however he wasn't listening.

They were being lead out, when Sakura let out a small hiss after Sinbad gripped her arm too tightly and stopped her. When she looked to him, his eyes were not on her, but behind them. "Sakura-look over there." He spoke in a harsh whisper, with alertness that said he didn't want King Rashid or Barbarossa to know where his attention was diverted.

Sakura's eyes followed in the direction of Sinbad's and became just as wide when she spotted a new arrival in the throne room; leading the current emperor out of the room. A women; her body completely covered from head to toe, only her narrow eyes uncovered. It had been a few years since they had last seen her, the last time was in Valefor's dungeon. The sorcerer Falan.

"What the hell?" Sakura hissed, as softly as she could, still aware of their current position.

Realizing that they were beginning to fall behind, Sinbad pulled on Sakura's arm, leading her back to join the rest of the escort, Rashid and Barbarossa.

"She's still here?" Sakura whispered, frowning deeply.

"It seems so." Sinbad whispered back. "This whole situation….it's too much."

* * *

While making their way out of the palace, Barbarossa took the opportunity to speak with the two dungeon conquerors. "What did you think of Parthevia?"

It was very hard for anyone to place the newly set expression on Sinbad's face as anything other than hostile and guarded. "You were shown around the city and you saw our new political system. You've also met with his majesty so you've pretty much seen all there is to see in this country. So why the long face? There is still something bothering you isn't there?"

Sakura didn't want to give a response to Barbarossa, but that's where she differed with Sinbad. When he spoke, he was completely blunt and honest addressing Barbarossa. It seemed that Falan's appearance had shifted Sinbad's opinion of Barbarossa and the new Parthevia.

"I still don't completely trust you." Sinbad stated. "It's true that the conditions of Parthevia have improved and yet, that magician who tried to kill us is still here. Falan. Then there's you." Sakura grew weary when Sinbad looked at Barbarossa with a stern glare but it only last for a moment before he must have remembered their situation. Sinbad bowed his head. "So the doubts I've harbored about this country still haven't completely been erased. My apologies."

"I see…" Barbarossa looked to one of the members of his party. "Daru, what are my plans for today?"

Barossa was given his long list of events for today, his committee meetings, speeches and other works that sounded mandatory. Sakura thought at first that Barbarossa was trying to find space in his busy schedule to sway Sinbad of his honest opinion but that wasn't entirely the case when he demanded that all of his plans for that day to be cancelled.

Then Barossa walked over to the teens. He came up to Sinbad and put his hand on his shoulder. "King Rashid, would you mind if a borrowed him for a while?"

Sinbad and Sakura looked at Barbarossa with wide eyes, "Huh!?"

"…Sure" Rashid agreed, a bit confused.

"This is your chance. We can talk about everything you want to know. I have nothing to hide."

"But-

Sakura interjected then, deciding to cease opportunity before Sinbad's skepticism could cloud his judgment. She put on her best smile, coming up beside Sinbad, gripping his arm to get his attention. "Hey Sinbad darling, Lord Barbarossa is right after all you were worried about the conditions of Parthevia."

Sinbad took the hint and Sakura's nudging, he looked back at Barbarossa. "Alright but I want my partner to join-

Sakura saw the flickering change in Barbarossa's face when he seemed to realize Sinbad wanted to invite Sakura to join them. It looked like he was ready to retract his statement.

"Don't be ridiculous." Sakura said, her voice cheery. "We're still a part of King Rashid's escort, it wouldn't be appropriate for both of us to abandon our posts. Besides, we must consider Lord Barbarossa who has just cleared his schedule Sinbad."

Although he seemed hesitant, Sinbad decided to go along with whatever angle Sakura was playing at and nodded.

"Thank you Miss Haruno, we should be back by this evening."

"Of course." Sakura bowed her head slightly.

Sakura continued to watch Sinbad as he left with Barbarossa, before falling back with King Rashid. She had a feeling that Barbarossa wasn't going to reveal everything to Sinbad like he had promised if Sakura had gone with them. Serendine had told her about Barbarossa in more detail than Sinbad might have been aware of and he seemed like the kind of man who wanted things done in a certain way. Despite not wanting to leave Sinbad alone with him, there was almost no chance for Barossa to do anything as he had asked King Rashid's permission which was a reassurance to her. If she had imposed then Sinbad might not be able to get the answers he wants.

* * *

Sakura had spent the remainder of her day as part of King Rashid's escort, simply standing in the background while the king dealt with important matters and negotiations but it gave her a sight into the duties of a king and ruler. Sinbad was going to have to be far more diligent if he wanted to become the kind of king he was striving to be. Even then she wondered if it was going to be enough.

A little ways further into the day, nearing late afternoon King Rashid said that he would be taking a short break before heading back and dealing with another matter of events. Suppose it was only natural that even kings needed a break. King Rashid also dismissed the guards of his escort, saying he would just be taking a stroll through the palace gardens. Of course the head of his escort Barkak was about to argue against his decision.

"King Rashid, is it really best to leave on your own without escort?"

Rashid grinned, "Of course I am not going on my own-Sakura care to join me for a walk through the gardens?"

It was somewhat ironic that this wasn't the first time she was requested to do that; but for the sake of her role, she only bowed her head and said yes.

* * *

The section of the Parthevia palace gardens Rashid chose to walk through had a high fragrance of sweetness in the air combined with the multiple line of flower bushes that lined a maze-like path of softly cut grass that made you sink into it with every step; a water fountain as the center piece, a crystal that seemed transparent with the water flowing above it. The palace buildings from this point of view appeared completely vacant. It was peaceful enough for Sakura to actually feel content.

"Why are you walking behind Sakura?" Rashid asked, peering over his shoulder to the pinkette. When he saw Sakura's confused expression, he elaborated, propping out the side of his arm for her. "I cannot have a proper discussion if I can't at least see you."

Sakura came up and hooked her arm that was free of a spear with the king of Balbadd, walking in sync beside him. This was actually the first time throughout their meetings that they were in each other's company without Sinbad's presence.

"What is it you wish to discuss your majesty?" Sakura asked, peering around the gardens, taking a brief moment to marvel at its beauty while she waited for a response.

"Merely my observations; ones that I don't want Sinbad to be aware of. I'm impressed to see how far Sinbad has come after all this time. He's so different from that novice boy I foxed in Reim. I believe he is on his way to becoming a great king. Just don't tell him I admitted to any of this."

Sakura smiled at the lighthearted topic that was now the being of her affection. Reminiscing to that time in Balbadd. "Of course not, he's ego's big enough as it is."

The two shared a hearty laugh on account of Sinbad and even after their laughter died down, there was still the light atmosphere around them.

"I don't think that's ever going to change-no matter how old he gets." Sakura said, snickering when she thought about what Sinbad would be like when he was older. He had a complexity about age already this young, she couldn't imagine what would happen when he reached his thirties. For everyone else's sake, she hoped he aged slowly.

"But you've changed quite a bit yourself haven't you, Sakura?"

For whatever reason, Sakura felt obliged to deny the compliment. There was a time she was convinced she had grown; that she had finally peaked after the years she had spent in this world. After seeing Sinbad, the way he still berated himself for not knowing enough and for the mistakes he made. She had come to realize that she was also still far from what she needed to be.

"No; I'd like to think I still have a long way to go. I want to be able to stand on my own without hurting or being a burden to anyone. If I can do that…." Sakura put her hands above her chest, smiling at nothing in particular. "Then I can always be a source of strength for Sinbad."

"You already are." Rashid stated. He was certain, because he knew. A few years ago; Sinbad had sent word to him about Sakura's disappearance. He wanted everyone to keep a look out for her. Though the letter he received about Sakura was in such a formal manner, Rashid didn't miss the desperation of the tone and context. He also didn't miss the change between the two when he saw them after the incident with the Mariadel Company. He didn't miss the marks around both Sinbad and Sakura's necks from the slave collars. He was stunned when he heard Sakura had gone so far for Sinbad as to become a slave.

"I don't know about that. I get anxious if I can't do anything to help him." Sakura admitted. "And I still get anxious."

"From the time I met Sinbad, you've always been by his side. You've done more for him than you are able to see." Rashid said firmly.

The scenery of the gardens became nothing more than a background, instead of a focal point as the conversation began to swallow them.

"You're always fighting for him Sakura, but let me ask you this. Have you ever once wanted to be the one fought for?"

Sakura paused, thinking carefully for a moment and then shaking her head. "Sinbad wants to be king and I want to be by his side. He has the ability to become king, but if I want to stand by him, I need to be the one who fights and not be fought for or he might lose his goal."

"So, you haven't entertained the idea of being with another? Someone who would make your life a little easier?"

Sakura laughed, "To answer bluntly, no I have not. I don't care much for an easy life-not anymore."

Rashid smiled, looking up to the clear sky. The rukh around him fluttered with nostalgia from what Sakura could pick up. "You love him don't you?"

It was a simple question, with a simple answer and Sakura knew that the time for doubt was long over. "Yes, I do."

"You sound so certain, I'm glad. These days love is merely a word used to enchant for the convenience of the one who claims to possess it."

"Well; love for me has been far from convenient." Sakura stated. "It's like I'm enduring more than possessing it but I cannot cast it aside."

"I see." Rashid fell silent for a moment too long, enough to draw Sakura's attention nearer. "Sakura, will you allow me to give you some council?"

"Of course, your majesty." Sakura responded immediately, somewhat eagerly.

A solemn expression fell over Rashid's face; it was as if he grew heavy with thoughts. Whatever he was thinking about had to be bittersweet memories, because there was a sad content in his eyes when Sakura looked at him again. "Sinbad is a great boy and without a doubt will grow to become a great man but does not know what it means to truly be a king-not yet."

Her face twisted in confusion, losing her line of understanding in what the king of Balbadd was insinuating.

"You cannot expect change without sacrifice. Despite the wealth and power of a king, there is usually something that most are unable to afford."

"What is that?" Sakura asked, fully attentive in the answer.

"Love." Rashid answered the pinkette; putting a halt to their movements. Feeling Sakura's grip on his arm tighten slightly in anxious waiting. "And even if they do find it; it's hard to hold onto. Yet it is what gives them the greatest strength. Whether or not love remains or leaves, a king is made greater because of love."

The way King Rashid spoke, gave Sakura one clear message without it needing to be said. He was speaking from his own experience. There was no way for someone to sound so genuine, unless they had actually endured the even that gave the knowledge itself.

"Who was she?" Sakura asked, softly yet determined. She wanted to know who it was that made this king so great. After all, this man was the king Sinbad admired the most and who he would aspire to follow as his mentor; it made her that much more desperate to know.

"Her name was Anise."

* * *

Sakura didn't join Sinbad and Barbarossa for dinner that night and instead retired to her room after the escort was dismissed from duty. Sinbad had come back after spending the day with Barbarossa, ready to share all of the details with Sakura. He was a little surprised when he didn't' find her in his room waiting for him but when he found her in her assigned room. He was so excited to give in his report of the day that he didn't notice the unusual air surrounding Sakura; even when he sat directly beside her and held her in his arms.

"Find anything interesting?" Sakura asked.

"Plenty."

At first he had been a bit weary because of the agenda Barbarossa had set for them, first horseback riding-which Sakura immediately noted Sinbad couldn't' do because he didn't know how to ride a horse, though it did explain the twisted wrist she had to heal and scratches on his face from falling down a hill.

They also went fishing by a river on the outskirts of the capital city. Barbarossa confronted Sinbad on his weariness for him because he had attempted to kill them all in the dungeon using Falan, but he pointed that they were enemies at the time. Saying that he was only being faithful to his professional duties at the time. Instead of being offended, Sinbad was actually intrigued.

Sakura didn't find it unusual though, after all when she remembered her fist chunin exam they had been betrayed by one of their village allies, the Sand village. All because of Orochimaru's deceptive hand in impersonating their leader and declaring war on the Leaf village. They had even killed some people from their village, but when the truth was revealed everyone was able to look passed it because they were only doing as they were ordered.

"I understand if he was only being faithful to his duties. After all alliances are made with enemies but the only way for them to succeeds is to leave the past as it is and move forwards." Sakura said in a monotone.

"Yes well, I also asked him why he confronted us and revealed our identities because there was no reason for him to be concerned in his current position. Then he said it was because he was interested in me."

Apparently Barbarossa had a strong belief. A belief that Parthevians were the most superior race in the entire world. That was why he took such an interest in Sinbad. Simply because he was from Parthevia. Sakura found it ludicrous but it seemed that Barbarossa might have been more narrow minded that he was letting on. He thought of Sinbad as the ideal Parthevian with his abilities and unique attributes.

"Well of course he would use you to personify his ideal Parthevian," Sakura said. "You're special Sinbad."

Sinbad gave a small, humorless snicker. Resting his elbows on his knees. "That's what Barbarossa said as well. He said he wanted to know more about me and actually asked me to become his friend."

"And what did you say?" Sakura asked, although she was listening, there was a fraction of her mind that was completely disinterested and attempting to push through the blockade Sakura had made with this conversation.

Sinbad had told Barbarossa his story, completely and honestly. He spoke about his goal to change the world of its injustice. Barbarossa then told Sinbad of his goal; to make Parthevia and its people known throughout the world. To prove that Parthevians are the most superior race. That was why he apparently changed the country's system. It was his motivation for all that he was now doing. Even when Sinbad had denied Barossa's ideas of Parthevian's being the most supreme, he wasn't deterred because Sinbad was doing what he believed-that Parthevians were a race that should stand above others and lead the world just as Sinbad was leading the company consisting of all the different races and allied with so many countries.

"Well when he puts it like that…" Sakura trailed, "Although I'm completely against this belief he has about Parthevia people being superior to all others."

"As am I." Sinbad stated, stretching out his arm to rest on Sakura's shoulders. "I think it's how he won over the people. If they were taught to think in context of his ideals they would gain complete confidence and I'm sure he wanted to use me as the personification of his ideals but that's where I got him."

Sakura craned her neck to look at Sinbad, seeing his grin. "What did you do?"

"Let's just say I took your advice."

Sinbad had gotten Barbarossa into agreeing to find land for Sinbad to build his country by using the idea of Parthevian superiority to his advantage, pointing out that he couldn't be the embodiment of Barbarossa's ideals as he wasn't able to achieve his own goals which would contradict Babarossa's belief.

"He agreed without much qualms; only that he would have the ability to assist me if he won the next election. We thus made it a promise for the future and spent the rest of our time discussing how I would build the country."

Sakura smiled with distance, "I'm glad."

"Actually, Barbarossa wants to continue our discussions later this evening and has arranged for us to share a room but that means the two of us can't-

"I'm okay with that." Sakura drew a small extra bit of air in her next breath. "But next time, I think it would be best if you didn't come to a decision to align yourself with someone based solely on my advice."

"Why do you say that? You've always given me great advice and I don't think that you were wrong about this."

"Like I said before, it was just a thought."

It was then that Sinbad stopped and stared at her, concerned. Sakura usually had a lot of opinions and ideas when it came to these types of matters. Even if she wasn't experienced in them herself, she had a vast mind that could come up with multiple situations and solutions with very little information. Right now she just seemed to be listening but holding off on her own opinions which was very unlike her.

"Sakura; are you alright?" Sinbad called her, watching her far off expression. She turned back to him with a blank smile, touching the side of his face.

"I'm fine."

* * *

She fell forwards, kissing him briefly before pulling away and telling him that he should head out to meet with Barbarossa before he sent for someone. When Sinbad had lift, he had felt a lingering worry in his mind, but set it aside as Sakura continued to smile at him with the same affection he was becoming familiar with, because of that he didn't see her dismal.

 _Sakura stared at Rashid, blinking wildly for several moments as if to flash herself out of a dream, although she knew that this was very real._

" _Anise…" She trailed, her mind materializing a dark haired women with a kind smile holding a small blonde boy in worn out clothing. She continued to tell herself it couldn't possibly be the person she was thinking of. Strangers shared many more things than they realize, including names. But as he continued with a tale Sakura knew had to be a tragic one, Sakura knew that it was exactly the person she thought of._

" _She was a maid servant in the palace, but she was different. Beautiful and kind." Rashid smiled in reminiscence. "We fell in love but we could never truly be together. She became pregnant and after our son, Alibaba was born she left the palace. We haven't been in contact since."_

 _When having a face to compare, Alibaba did have similar features of his father but they were masked, softened by his mother's genetics. Alibaba was the son of Anise and Rashid Saluja. A prince of Balbadd; living without any idea of who he truly was. That was the worst thing you could take from someone._

" _You mean you…._

" _I have a son born out of wedlock." Rashid admitted. "Anise didn't want any complications so she left."_

" _But! Doesn't this kind of thing happen all the time?" Sakura pointed. She learned that it wasn't uncommon for king's to have concubines and of course they were bound to have children with them, but those children were still seen as royalty._

" _That is true. However; Ahbmad and Sahbmad's mother was also a factor to consider in the decision. She would not have taken kindly had she found out about Anise. So before anyone could suspect anything; Anise left with our newborn. I am already worried about what would become of Balbadd when I leave and Ahbmad is next in line to rule. Alibaba's life may have been in danger if he remained; even if he is an illegitimate child; he still has my blood running through him. The blood of a royal. And that gives him the right to lay claim to the throne."_

" _So just you let this happen!? You abandoned the women you loved and your child for your crown? Why?" Sakura asked, her voice on the verge of choking the air from her._

" _Some men aren't meant to be happy Sakura; they're meant to be great." Rashid stated. "It's rare to have both; but I believe that Sinbad can achieve that. Although not as the both of you are right now. When Sinbad realizes what it means to be a king, what it takes and what it sacrifices. You must make sure that you are the embodiment of what he needs."_

 _Sakura was completely speechless. Her inexperience sealed her mouth and blocked her voice. When she thought about what Serendine had suggested to her in Zepar's dungeon, she wondered; was the situation the same with her and Sinbad? If he was going to become king, wouldn't it be best for him to marry a royal one day to strengthen his position? Someone with status? If this was the decision that King Rashid-his mentor had to make…._

 _Rashid then placed his hands on Sakura's shoulders, "Sakura, you are right about still needing to grow, you must. You need to become a great queen for your king, if you wish to stay by his side. Take every opportunity to better yourself until none stand above you. Because if you truly love Sinbad the way I believe you do, then you'll be willing to sacrifice your own happiness for his sake."_

" _Would I?" Sakura said out loud. Remembering what she had said to Sinbad back in Zepar's dungeon. When Serendine had presented Sinbad with an opportunity, realistic even if only made with words. It had a chance of being the truth and that's what terrified her. "I can say whatever I want but I know in the end you cannot fool your own heart. I'm selfish and I wouldn't want to give up Sinbad so that he could be king."_

" _I'm not saying it wouldn't hurt, that it wouldn't be hard or that you wouldn't be going against your own heart but you would still do it. Because real love, is caring more about someone else's suffering than your own. You have to ensure that it doesn't come to that. Do you understand?"_

 _Sakura nodded blankly, her eyes dull. "Yes."_

* * *

Sakura had been replaying her conversation with King Rashid in her mind over and over again; until their last night in Parthevia. Sinbad had been occupied with Barbarossa, leaving Sakura on her own with her thoughts. King Rashid had given her more to think about. She was naïve, as was Sinbad but when time passed, she didn't want him to have to make the decision between her and his goals. However far off it was in Zepar's dungeon; the future was still there and it could come to that one day. If she wanted to go against that, she needed to be prepared.

So whenever Sakura found herself free from her escort duties, she would go to the palace library to read (after getting the permission of course), on Barbarossa's literature as well as others that seemed useful in terms of ruling. Although she found, that there was something things you simply couldn't learn or understand from the pages of a book.

'I need more.' That was all Sakura thought as she finished her fourth scroll of the night, sitting in one of the armchairs that were placed all around the large library with two floors of nothing but shelves and reading material. She obviously wasn't going to learn everything she needed over the expansion of two days, but a stubborn part of her wouldn't let her take a rest in what was supposed to be a free time in case she missed a minute of vital information that would help build her shield for the future.

Sakura was somewhat glad she didn't see much of Sinbad because she didn't want to end up telling him about the conversation she had with his mentor. Not about his unknown child, past lover or about the sacrifice of a king. She knew that he would only reassure her as he always had; tell her that she had nothing to worry about but she didn't want him to do that. In the future; should his words be put to the test; she doesn't want him to make a decision based on what he said in the past. It would be like setting a trap, forgetting about it and then falling straight into it.

Sakura didn't want him to jeopardize his own goals with promises but what's more-she didn't want him to attain his goals despite having made contradicting promises to her.

'Which is why I am sitting in a library who knows what time at night.' Sakura thought rubbing her eyes, strained from all the reading; until another voice spoke.

"Oh, I didn't think I'd be seeing you here Miss Haruno."

Sakura nearly dropped the scroll in her hands when she heard Barbarossa's voice. She hadn't heard him come in through the door. He was wearing a white robe, looking more barren than he did in the day with his armor.

"Lord Barbarossa, I'm sorry-

"No need for apologies, if anything I should be the one giving them for startling you." Barbarossa said, holding up his hand. "I was just walking by when I noticed a candle light coming from the library doors. A little late night reading?"

Sakura shifted slightly as Barbarossa gazed at the folded scrolls at her feet. She had done her best to keep the space as neatly as possible but after the first hour, she got tired of moving to put the scrolls back.

"I enjoy it and I don't have much of anything else to do when I'm off duty." Sakura said calmly.

"Suppose since I've been occupying Sinbad right?" Barbarossa asked and Sakura jolted, blushing when she saw his knowing smile. Sinbad wouldn't have…

"He often speaks fondly of your Miss Haruno; it wasn't that hard to figure out." Barbarossa stated, seating himself in one of the chairs directly opposite of Sakura's.

"If you don't mind Lord Barbarossa; Sakura is just fine. You are older than me and while I respect honorifics, I prefer if I wasn't addressed with them."

Sakura wondered what exactly Sinbad had said about her; since he didn't bother to tell her he brought her up in their conversation.

Barbarossa smiled. "Very well then Sakura. I must admit, I feel somewhat guilty having taken up most of Sinbad's attention. You must miss his presence; I know he misses yours."

Sakura shook her head, smiling; although she was a little distorted with Barbarossa's start at a conversation with the icebreaker being the topic of her relationship with Sinbad. Just how close had he had and Sinbad become in the expansion of three day? Although from what she understood, if Barbarossa's party won the next election, then Parthevia would join the Seven Seas alliance so Sakura had to ensure that she did nothing to deter that choice. "Not at all; I'm sure Sinbad is learning a lot from you Lord Barbarossa."

"I am honored you think that, but it would seem that you are doing a great deal of learning as well." Barbarossa pointed to the scrolls.

"Well; I appreciate new literary works and expanding my knowledge." Sakura answered as simple and vague as she could.

"That's a good quality." Barbarossa stated. Resting his elbows on his knees and linking his fingers to make a sturdy base to rest his chin. "Especially since you are Sinbad's partner."

Sakura closed her eyes, her face turning serious. "Lord Barbarossa, there is no need for you to endure me like this."

"Whatever do you mean?" Barbarossa asked with a genuine tone, wanting to know the answer rather than make a fool of her by hearing what he already knew. Although Sakura couldn't confirm he wasn't intended on the latter despite his tone of voice.

"Sinbad already explained to me your ideology of Parthevian superiority. I also know that is why you excluded me from your invitation that day." Sakura stated bluntly.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. I must admit I was rather fixated on Sinbad but I didn't meant to give you that impression."

Sakura shook her head, completely unaffected. "You don't need to apologize; I can't say I agree with your doctrine but that doesn't meant that I am against you. For example; I agree with you that Sinbad is special and perhaps yourself as well-seeing as how you both have attained multiple djinns."

Sinbad had told Sakura, Barbarossa had attained two djinn metal vessels just as Sinbad. Serendine had mentioned him having one metal vessel in her story, but she must have missed the second-that or he hadn't attained it before she fled Parthevia.

"But from what I have heard; you have four metal vessels." Barbarossa said and Sakura tensed; Sinbad must have told him that as well. "As for my doctrine-do believe Parthevian's are a superior race but you misread my words."

Sakura tilted her head slightly, "How so?"

"When I said that Parthevians were the most superior race; I meant that we are the most superior race in 'this' world…" Barbarossa's smile turned into a dark smile, his eyes meeting Sakura's which widened with realization as it sunk in. Barbarossa stood up, moving towards the door. "Do not get discouraged by my ideals Miss Haruno. After all Sinbad may be special but he seems unaware of just how special you are."

When Barbarossa opened the door, he looked back at the pinkette. "Of course, I suppose that's what draws you two together. Only special people are able to attain special things. Perhaps one day, I shall be able to do the same as he has."

Sakura didn't breathe until the library doors had completely closed and Barbarossa's presence was no longer felt. She ran her hand down her face, as if to wipe away all of the burdens, thoughts and emotions that have been set on her from this journey's turn of events and find some peace of mind once again.

 **Don't forget to review!**


	35. Three way battle-Gaap-Valefor-Zepar!

**Well my first year of university is officially over and in celebration, I present another chapter. As I don't enjoy spoilers, I will say that there is going to be some interesting developments and that is that. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

Sinbad would leave Parthevia with a new opportunity, a new friendship and a new form of information and knowledge; Sakura would leave it disorientated, disturbed and more anxious than when she had first arrived. Before they departed, Sinbad had asked Barbarossa about the purge rumors of humans being tested on and turned into monsters. To which Barbarossa admitted that the rumors were true but only meant for the criminals or 'inferiors' as Barbarossa had labeled them. There wasn't any further questioning about it from the two but Rashid had called Sinbad on whether or not he thought the purge was right and suggested that he take the time to think things through, treasure what he had learned in Parthevia and decide for himself.

"It seems you always manage to get more out of a journey that you initially planned huh?" That was the first thing that Sakura had said to Sinbad since they left the docks and were barely able to see Parthevia in the distance any longer. The only comfort that Sakura had at the moment.

"Yeah I did. That's just a bonus to the thrill of travelling." Sinbad took that moment to turn away from his home country fading in the distance to focus fully on the pinkette. "What about you? We didn't really see each other during this trip. Which was a real downside of it."

Sakura averted her eyes onto the vast ocean; almost tempted to drown herself. She wanted to tell Sinbad about king Rashid's third son and she wanted to tell him about last night when she spoke with Barbarossa, but what good would that do? Discovering something like this about his mentor, about his new friend, about her? The option of telling him was far less promising than the relief she might feel from revealing the truth at last. It risked more than she was willing to bet on at the moment.

"Nothing much." She smiled as best she could, wrapping her arms around his neck. "As for not seeing each other, we can make up for that when we get back."

Sinbad's ears seemed to perk and his face lit up, but he wanted to make certain he understood what she was insinuating. "And by make up?"

Snickering, Sakura leaned forward to whisper in Sinbad's ears something that would have had her turning away with a heated face. Sinbad didn't even question Sakura's boldness because of the blood to his brain he was suddenly lacking and in his excitement, didn't even question if Sakura may have alternative motives for the out-of-character declaration.

"Huh, you mean it!?" Sinbad asked almost too fast for his voice to form the words properly. Sakura in turn just gave a curt nod.

Giving her a quick peck on the lips, Sinbad rushed off to the captain to help him to get back to Balbadd sooner and Rashid didn't mind, although he was completely unaware of Sinbad's incentive to return home sooner.

'That should keep him occupied.' Sakura thought, turning back to the ocean with what seemed to have nothing in sight, full of uncertainty. Like her future.

" _Since when are you so bold as to entice?" Sitri chided_

'I wasn't enticing, I was just distracting.' Sakura curtly replied, not in any mood to hear the teasing's of two particular djinns. They had already crossed the borders, didn't see why she should withdraw from using it time to time.

" _You could have tried 'enticing' with that Kou prince, might have spared you from a lot of trouble." Gaap told her._

" _GAAP!" Beleth exclaimed, clearly appalled._

'My only trouble right now, is ensuring that I can remain by Sinbad's side.'

* * *

When arriving back in Balbadd, Sinbad and Sakura gathered everyone in the main office to report back to them on their findings in Parthevia. Serendine, Drakon, Sahel and Tamir were amongst the first to arrive, quite eager of course. They told them about how Parthevia's government system had changed to a constitutional monarchy and how the government became centered around the political parties chosen by the people and most importantly, about Barbarossa leading the Industrial Nationalist party. Everyone was a little baffled and surprised by this news since they weren't familiar with the political system that had been installed.

Sakura also assured Serendine that her brother was safe. That in actual fact, due to the new political system his safety was guaranteed now more than ever. Although despite the positive direction that the news of Parthevia was pointing in, Serendine still sat with her fists clenched at her skirt and her eyes narrowed in disdain. In complete disapproval.

"This is ridiculous…I can't forgive the fact that this reform was caused by a coup de 'tat and my father's assassination. By stripping away all their power it's like he's made an example of the royal family. Using them as puppets. This system has no compassion for my brother, who has survived through so much."

Sakura moved to sit beside Serendine; taking one of the princess's hands and rubbing small circles at the back. "Serendine; I know this can't be easy for you but at least your brother's safe and because of this system, things have improved for Parthevia too."

"Of course." Serendine said, gripping Sakura's hand, feeling the warm comfort it brought. "Placing the government in the hands of the people causes them to think only of their advantage. It's temporary."

"I disagree." Sinbad leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. "A country should exist for the sake of its people. Its land, assets, they all rightfully belong to its citizens. There shouldn't be a problem with the citizens deciding for themselves how they want their country to run. I think we can learn from this reform. You can govern without a king. A country can be created that way."

It seemed that those three days of new found knowledge Sinbad had found and learned from Barbarossa was already firmly planted and beginning to produce fruits of ideas from the soil of his mind. "Besides, Emperor Ceylan plays a role as the symbol of royal authority. Just like you said Serene. There's no need for him to be a leader, what is necessary is his bloodline."

Sakura accidently gripped Serendine's hand a little tighter when Sinbad mentioned the importance of a royal's bloodline. The princess noticed this but didn't flinch as the grip quickly loosened to a comfortable hold once again.

"Citizen's control the government and the king is a symbol. Together they create a new country in which everyone works to sustain it. I'd like to acknowledge the value of their efforts." Sinbad paused briefly, as a sign that everyone should heed what he was going to say next. "So, I think Sindria trading company should make a deal with the Independent nationalist party."

This declaration of course, had everyone leaping from their seats with a spring of questions on the matter. Sinbad added quickly that he still didn't completely trust the party but if they became a political party, they would be a great asset to the company. Since Sinbad was no longer a wanted man in Parthevia, the country was no threat.

"The Parthevia we saw with our own eyes," Sinbad looked at Sakura for a second before focusing on the rest of the group. "Is no longer the same country it used to be; that is why I thought about working with them. However; I won't rush into things on my own-not again."

No one had any real objections to Sinbad's decision for the company to begin trade with Parthevia. His mind was already made and his promise not to make the same mistakes he had with the Mariadel company seemed to be enough to put them at ease. It was an opportunity with little downfall. What's more; the belief in Sinbad's ability as a leader was the turning factor for everyone to side with him in the end.

Trading with Parthevia meant that Sinbad would be seeing more of Barbarossa and Sakura was certain, she would as well. She didn't know what Barbarossa's incentive was for knowing informing her about what he knew, but that just meant one more person was a threat in exposing her to Sinbad, along with Judar who was also staying with the company now. That was the one contingency she did not approve of. And on top of everything there was another secret she would now have to keep on her until she figured out what to do with it. Though she chose to keep everything that she had recently discovered to herself for the time being and focus her time on helping run the company. Unfortunately for Sinbad, the work load had increased after his declaration and he had set a pause on their plans to make up for the time in Parthevia-Secretly to Sakura's relief.

Sakura was also a little preoccupied, attempting to educate herself and enrich her knowledge but it wasn't easy. Her method of learning didn't exceed further than the writing on a scroll. She took every chance she could to read up on anything she could get her hands on and no one noticed because they were well hidden amongst her desk with all of the paper work that would pile with each passing day. Those days spent in Parthevia left her with quite a bit of work.

* * *

When Sakura was in the office alone working on some documents, Mystras came bursting through the door. His arms wrapped around more than a dozen scrolls; faced flushed and panting like he had run through the entire building twice.

Sakura put her quill down, "Mystras, are you alright?"

He staggered over to the desk, dropping the scrolls, "Yes-um-here are the reports."

Sakura stared at the new additions on her desk gaping. "Um Mystras; you didn't have to deliver these till later-

"I know but-but I-I won't be here later on be-because-because-

Holding up her hand, Sakura stood up and walked around the desk to Mystras. Gripping his shoulders gently and telling him to take a deep breath before continuing. He did as instructed, regulating his breathing and was able to speak without blubbering.

"Okay; now what's going on? And use words."

"I'm going sightseeing today and I won't be back till later this afternoon." Mystras interjected before Sakura could bring up the list of things she knew he still had to finish before the day was out. "Vittel and Mahad have offered to take care of the rest of my work."

"Well that explains why you finished your work early, but why do you look like you're about to pass out?" Sakura was still curious what brought on this sudden development, considering that they were so busy.

She knew that, like most of the company members; since they arrived in Balbadd, Mystras didn't have the opportunity to explore Balbadd because of the work that took up most of their days and sometimes nights. Even Sakura hadn't gotten much leisure time since they arrived and Sinbad was even worse-barely able to sneak out for a drink before Sakura or Ja'far would drag him back, in just enough pain so that he could resume his duties while retaining a firm memory of the consequence should he attempt to stray from them a second time in a day.

Mystras had a very visible blush on his face and his next words explained everything to her. "I invited Pipirika to come with me."

Sakura's lips formed a knowing grin; his sudden anxiousness now completely clear. "Alright then, so what are you waiting for?"

"I want to take this chance to get closer to her but…" Mystras trailed nervously, rubbing the back of his head, before poking his index fingers together. "I-I don't know really about relationships-So I was wondering if you could; tell me-

"You're coming to me-for relationship advice?" Sakura asked, a bit baffled. She had only been in one relationship-the one she was in right now with Sinbad. Hardly qualifying her to be giving out advice.

"Yes." Mystras said, firmly when he heard Sakura's disbelief. "You and Sinbad are one of the few real relationships I have witnessed. I couldn't go to Hinahoho about this because Imuchakk courtship traditions are very different from what I have learned."

That wasn't entirely wrong; given that Hinahoho asked to marry Rurumu after he got his warrior name. Their custom was different and didn't apply to Mystras, which may bring up complications if Hinahoho found out about his intentions-plus he'd probably kill Mystras before he even got the chance to ask Pipirika for the opportunity to peruse a relationship together.

"Fine." Sakura sighed.

Mystras grinned. "Thank you Sakura! So what should I do?"

"Tell me first; are you asking her out because you like her or because you're not certain if you like her and want to find out?"

"I like her." Mystras confirmed in full confidence. Sakura could see he was getting ready to defend his case and probably list why and that but Sakura spoke before he could do it.

"Then you should just tell her how you feel."

Mystras jolted a little to the back as if he had been hit by static. "Huh!?"

"Ask her to go with you today and confess to her-before you return to the company."

"I-I can't just-

"Yes you can." Sakura said firmly. She placed her hand on Mystras's shoulder. "If you like someone, you should tell them. Waiting around for something to happen will just be wasting your time. You need to take the opportunity to go after what you want. That's the best advice I can give you."

Mystras was still pulling at strings to climb out of the pit of predicament he had placed himself in with advice from Sakura that didn't include him taking a risk by pouring his heart out and getting it broken.

"Did you and Sinbad do that? Just confess everything?" He had to know if that assured look in her face when said those words to her were assured by experience rather than an attempt to hide ignorance.

Sakura's eyes averted to the ceiling, her mind flipping back like the pages of a book to re-read something and see what you have missed but when she thought back she realized that their confession had still be going. Although by then, their feelings were weighing differently on the scale compared to Mystras's because there were more factors placed on top of one another.

"Well…um-when we started; our feelings-it was on equal grounds but I was a bit more reluctant to express them as Sinbad could."

The reason Sakura could not voice to others was not just for her but for Sinbad as well. She shared the same feelings for Sinbad as she had for Sasuke and that was what kept her from confessing to Sinbad. She didn't want to advertise something like that, and especially not in a situation like this.

"Why is that?" Mystras asked.

Sakura chuckled, "Mystras; you know the saying that there is a fine line between love and hate? Well that line is called 'like' and it's not as 'fine' as you think. Right now you're still balancing on it but Sinbad and I have already fallen off to the side we've chosen."

With a bright grin, Sakura tapped Mystras's head twice. "Just keep your balance for now and try not to be obscured."

When she was certain Mystras had enough time to allow his mind to process and solidify his resolve, she started shoving him towards the door. "Now go and have fun."

"Thank you Sakura."

As Mystras closed the door, Sakura returned to her desk smiling. She had told Mystras to be honest and upfront because she felt that Pipirika would want Mystras to do the same. Sakura hadn't missed those few looks that she had given Mystras when he wasn't looking her way, but she wouldn't admit to it and Sakura hadn't brought it up either. There was always a chance of romantic teases that she fired to be reflected back at her with double the force. During this Sakura also sadly realized something; she and Sinbad, for the duration that they had been together-have not gone on a single date.

'As if there wasn't enough at my desk to depress me.' Sakura thought, shaking her head before resuming her work. Attempting to suffocate her mind with ink that it would forget to force Sakura to look back at memories.

* * *

Although Sakura was fully aware, Serendine's personal feelings on the matter put her on a different front than the others but even so; she didn't openly object to their decision to trade with Parthevia but she seemed to be showing another way of rejecting the decision. When preparations started; Serendine had distanced herself from the work that had any relation to Sindria's new alliance. Both she and Judar in fact; the two would disappear for most of the day and come back later in the evening. Though no one questioned Serendine on her activities; assuming she just wanted to be away to avoid the discomfort of discussion revolving around Parthevia.

One night when Judar and Serendine were particularly tardy had been saddled with even more work that had her leaving the office and walking through the hallways to her room; when she spotted Judar and Serendine returning. There wasn't any other presence other than the three.

"Sakura!" The princess exclaimed in surprise when she spotted the girl walking towards them.

"What are you doing here interloper?" Judar asked, his hands on his hips.

"I could ask you the same thing." Sakura crossed her arms, taking in their appearance. While Judar appeared just as he had that morning, Serendine looked as if she had been dragged through the dirt three times over. Her hair was matted, there was dirt patches on her skin, made to stick by sweat and remain long after she had stopped perspiring. "You two are only getting in now at this time of night and you look like this. Where exactly have you been?"

Serendine and Judar gave each other none discrete glances, this made Sakura certain their recent disappearances didn't have as much to do with Sindria's new potential alliance; at least not to the degree they thought it had.

"Serendine what's going on?" Sakura's tone made it clear, she wasn't' going to leave with vague answers.

"It's none of your business interloper." Judar stated carelessly.

"Judar!" Serendine exclaimed.

"Well it isn't," Judar pointed as if he was speaking fact, waving his wand around. "She isn't even supposed to be here."

Sakura didn't deter from Judar's words. He was brash, harsh and arrogant to a degree that may have surpassed Sinbad, yet Sakura could feel no malice towards him. In fact, she felt pity for the boy. It was obvious to her; that he hadn't been given much care-not the kind of care he needed. The one of a true parent, that involved discipline and attention to avoid bad behavior and habits which Judar had. He wasn't the only one in the company that lacked the basic social skills that drew people to conversation. Masrur, Sharrkan (and previously) even Ja'far.

Of course that didn't mean she could just leave things as they were; she'd been trying to find a chance to talk to Judar in private about addressing her as interloper and anything else he might know about her predicament. Maybe even explain to her how someone like Barbarossa knew about her, when the very people who were a blade of grass away from her most of the time, knew nothing of who she was or where she came from.

"I was training." Serendine stepped in front of Sakura, her hands in front of her.

Judar pointed his wand at Serendine. "I'm trying to teach Serene to use her djinn equip; but it's taking a while. She's a slow learner."

"And I don't want Sinbad to know what I am doing until I've mastered a full body djinn equip." Serendine said quickly.

When Sakura looked between the two, there was no signs of hidden deceit and she had lost all sense of doubt, because it was Serendine that had confirmed her doings. That was good enough. There was no harm in Serendine practicing to master her djinn equip; in fact that would be a huge advantage on their behalf. Although she was completely against Parthevia joining the alliance, Serendine hadn't lost her composure or lashed out in any way. Sakura was honestly amazed at how well Serendine had handled the situation by far and these disappearances had nothing to do with hiding out to brood or sulk. She was only strengthening herself. Serendine had a way of expressing her opinion without diminishing herself. She could debate and argue against the most rational and touch people's hearts-just like Sinbad.

Then another thought occurred to Sakura, finding out that Serendine was training to master her full body djinn equip made her realize that she herself still had one more djinn equip to master. The timing wouldn't be convenient and probably make her even more tired but it was a chance. One that she couldn't pass up.

Sakura smiled, turning back down to Judar. "So Judar, you're teaching Serendine how to use her djinn equip?"

Judar scoffed, "Weren't you listening before? Yes."

Sakura drew out Gaap's metal vessel from its sheath; the blade glistening in the rays of moonlight that shone from the small line of windows. "Well; I've had this guy for a while but I still haven't mastered his full djinn equip."

"Sakura….are you?"

"I'd like to train with you." Sakura said, "Don't worry; I won't tell Sinbad anything about this."

Serendine paused, searching for any sign that would tell her Sakura had some other motives for this but couldn't detect anything. "I'd be honored to have an experience djinn metal vessel user train with me."

"Thanks," Judar said sarcastically. "You just doubled my trouble."

Sakura smirked, putting a hand on her hip. "Oh, so the so called great sorcerer of creation can't even handle teaching two experienced fighters to master their metal vessels?"

"Watch it interloper." Judar snapped. "You're different-not invincible."

"I've also taught myself how to use three metal vessels, I'm sure I can handle a fourth."

Serendine smiled at Sakura when she looked at her again. "Then I look forward to training with you from tomorrow on, Sakura."

"As do I, Serendine."

* * *

Sakura and Serendine trained together with Judar's guidance to master their djinn equip. They would leave in the mornings to go into the forest, on the outskirts of Balbadd where they were able to use their metal vessels at their own discretion. Sakura-who had mastered three full body djinn equips already; made quicker progress than Serendine and unlike the princess, she didn't spend her entire day training as she still had commitments to the company. They agreed to keep this from everyone until after Serendine mastered her djinn equip; although Sakura didn't still didn't fully understand why Serendine was keeping her training a secret. As the days went by, the work at Sindria continued to grow and Sakura was barely able to keep up and by the time night fell. If Sakura was lucky enough to be able to withdraw to her chambers for a few short hours of sleep before waking with the sun, she would take it.

This left Sinbad and Sakura at a distance once again; despite sharing the same office and room. Sinbad himself was also weary from the day and would when he would come to their room, Sakura would either be sleeping or not present. Although there was mutual understanding in accordance to their responsibility to the company. The discontent however wasn't something that was easy to keep completely at bay.

Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, Sakura felt herself engulfed in a warm, familiar embrace. She breathed in the strong scent that reminded her of rare spices and immediately identified it as Sinbad's. It was ironic in a way that she enjoyed Sinbad's smell when she couldn't even digest the foods that often produced a similar aroma but there was a salty mix of the sea added to it. Even after staying on land for so long; it was as though the scent was a permanent part of him. A reminder of his voyages and conquests and reminder to Sakura of how she would always end up coming back to him, no matter the distances between them, even the vast sea.

"Are you still awake?" Sinbad broke the silence, muttering against the back of Sakura's neck, brushing the short strands against her skin.

"Only for about another five minutes, so I suggest you say whatever you need to quickly." Sakura smiled, wrapping her fingers around Sinbad's hands that were settled at her chest.

"Well, how about we take those five minutes and split it to hear each other's voices?" Sinbad suggested; he then turned the pinkette on her other side so that they could face one another. Once their eyes met, their smiles grew and the fatigue that both were experiencing seemed to dwindle like a candle that had been left burning for a minute too long.

"This is a bit surprising and rather unlike you." Sakura pointed, usually in their free time talk was something Sinbad usually wanted second than first now with the little private time they had together.

"On one condition."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Ah, yes of course, you do know that we've both got to be up early tomorrow right or we're going to get checked on?"

"It's not that, contrary to popular belief. That's on hold right now-unfortunately." Sinbad kissed her forehead before continuing. "This five minute conversation is reserved to speak about something revolving around us-meaning nothing concerning the company, our alliances, planning's, basically no business talk." Sinbad leaned forward so that their noses were touching. "That is the responsibility of a good man isn't it? To listen to his partners reviews of the day, even if he has lived through most of it with her."

Sakura propped herself up on the bed to lean against the headrest. "Well now; I didn't think you had a romantic side."

Sinbad, partially confused sat up as well next to her. "What are you talking about? I'm romantic all the time."

Lightly tapping her head against the headrest, Sakura proceeded to argue against Sinbad's words of self-assurance, finding a bit of a satisfactory in her being at seeing his confused face. "No, you're flirtatious, charming and without a doubt passionate, but romantic…." Sakura gave a side smirk to make Sinbad rethink his answer.

Sinbad sighed in defeat, already realizing that Sakura had angled and shot him into this conversation that he wasn't going to get out of. "Okay, what did I do wrong this time?"

Sakura laughed, watching Sinbad's expression and breathing in the nervous air around him; it was a reminder of the time they spent working together at the beginning, where they were still about to fit in light conversation and poke fun at one another. "Nothing really."

"Then why would you say I'm not romantic? Did I do something to make you think that?" Sakura knew when he raised his hands midair when speaking that he was not only baffled but bordering on desperate, wanting an answer. Sinbad was a very straightforward person when it came to what he wanted, although the means to achieve it were more obscured didn't make them anymore honest, just not as pure.

Sakura opened her mouth and paused midway, as if rethinking her answer before closing her mouth and gesturing no. "Nothing at all, I just haven't gotten an opportunity like this in a while."

"An opportunity at what?" Sinbad asked.

"To get the better of you for a moment." Sakura stated casually, flattening the sheets she was under. Her eyes cast downward. "Just for a moment longer."

" _Some men aren't meant to be happy Sakura; they're meant to be great."_

Sinbad noticed the pinkette shifting away again, her eyes were beginning to grow very dark underneath from the continuous work that linked night and day like the sky. Unlike the others, Sakura had a lot of stamina but it was already two weeks in and Sinbad had seen her finishing her work at what looked to be the last minute. Of course it was all done and up to code but Sakura wasn't as slow a worker. She didn't seem to be spending a lot of time at the company either and when she was, she would always have as scroll in front of her.

Instead of burdening her with questions that would take up more than the time they actually had, Sinbad chose to take his time to draw her away from whatever thoughts she might be having. "You weren't around for the announcement so I'll ask, did you know that Mystras and Pipirika are now dating?"

"What? That's fantastic!" Sakura nearly fell off the side of the bed; she hadn't heard anything about this and news around the company usually circulated the moment something was whispered and yet this managed to elude her. This wonderful news. As if any trace of happiness was fleeting.

With devoting her time and energy to the company, mastering her djinn equip and educating herself on the matters of politics and rule; Sakura didn't have much time left to give to the small pleasure of life. The more she read on politics in an attempt to teach herself, to earn the integrity and intelligence of a ruler, with every script it felt as if was only seeing the path that Sinbad has chosen to walk and it was so long and wide; she wasn't sure she could see an end. It was also discomforting to think this far into the future and to already be planning her journey towards it-without telling Sinbad for fear he may not wish to walk the same path with her.

She had resolved at least, that whatever happens; whether Sinbad was still with her or chose another; that she would be there with all the necessary tools to help him rule a country. It wasn't a way of thinking she wanted to alert him to, otherwise he would pursue her on it until she gave it up. If Sinbad wanted to be with her, it would be of his own choice and desires and not ones that she unconsciously placed on him.

'I'm worried about a future that might never come.' Sakura thought, but before that comfort could rest properly in her mind, another came in as well. She hadn't worried about the future with Sasuke or Naruto and look what has happened by far. She lost them both. Situations changed all the time and the future was unpredictable, but she needed to be ready for it; she would not become a victim of destiny again because of her own shortcomings.

For now she would enjoy this moment, the present for as long as she could.

"What did Hinahoho do when he found out?"

"Oh, don't worry we already repaired the damaged wall and Mystras is alive." Sinbad assured. "For now."

Moving to pull Sakura into his arms, Sinbad rested his chin on top of her head. "Rurumu actually asked them about having children."

"They only started dating and they are both still so young." Sakura knew that marriage at a young age wasn't that unusual, mostly amongst high-born-which both Mystras and Pipirika were. However their relationship wasn't one based on politics.

"Call it taking a moment to get the better of them." Sinbad jested, lingering in the feeling of Sakura's hands falling on his.

"Well at least now our relationship won't be the only topic to fall from everyone's lips." Sakura pointed out. "I'm getting tired of turning into a tomato."

"You were lucky you weren't there or we might have become her second target."

Sakura snickered; they hadn't given any hints to their recent development since they returned. All the work keeping them both occupied and at a distance where their urges could taunt but not be placed into action.

When a yawn escaped her lips, Sinbad maneuvered the pinkette in his arms to lie on her back. Still holding onto her, he rested his cheek on her shoulder. "Seems five minutes is already up; it usually lasts longer when we're arguing."

"I don't feel like doing that right now." Sakura whispered, her eyes already closed but her body not become inept to Sinbad's affection yet as he kissed her head.

"So I won't be getting a review on your day?"

Sinbad felt Sakura's grip on his waist tightened, her fingers digging slightly into his bare skin. "No, I just want to lie here quietly with you. Please, just a little while longer…."

"Of course."

* * *

"Ouch! Quit pulling so hard!" Judar exclaimed.

"Then stop squirming if you want me to finish." Sakura ran her hands through Judar's hair, with his braid undone it looked like a black wavy curtain from underneath the water. Training that day had been especially rigorous, so before returning to the company, Sakura, Serendine and Judar took a detour to the bathhouse. They rented out an entire outdoor baths for themselves, thanks to some swaying from Serendine and Judar's preferences. Sakura wouldn't have minded a public bath though.

"You're being too rough!" Judar whined; though he was finally beginning to relax as Sakura combed her hands through his hair, massaging his scalp. "Suppose you don't know how different it is to comb out long hair huh interloper?"

"Not for a long while." Sakura replied, chuckling. She looked over to Serendine, who was leaning against the stones that made up the bath, her eyes closed as if she was ready to fall asleep. "Are you okay there Serendine?"

Another day had gone by and Serendine was yet to master her full body djinn equip. Sakura had told her it would take some time, but Judar insisted that Serendine could learn it faster if she followed his instruction exactly, but when he spoke of magoi, it was no wonder Serendine didn't know what to do. Judar obviously had a lot of training, even at such a young age he was more advanced on matters of magic and magoi than Serendine.

"Yes I'm fine." Serendine said, in a bit of a far off voice.

Sakura smiled back at her, "Don't get discouraged so soon, you almost had it today."

"That's unfortunately what makes it even worse, like tasting victory at the final line only to be struck down."

"It's because you lost focus." Judar chided, crossing his arms. "I told you, it takes a certain amount of focus to draw out the power and then maintain it. You lost it when you finally managed to get into your full djinn equip."

"It took me almost three to four months to learn my first djinn equip. There's nothing wrong with that. The first time I transformed was by accident and I ended up using most of my magoi in one attack."

"Yeah you told us the story already. You were inexperienced, but you still managed to get on a full djinn equip."

Somehow, Sakura felt that her attempt to lighten the conversation had severely backfired, partly on accord of Judar's add-ons. After Sakura washed Judar's hair, she went to join the princess.

"You'll get it; stop pressuring yourself so much." Sakura soothed, resting her hands behind her head. "You're not learning on your own like I had to."

Serendine looked up at the night's sky, there wasn't much to marvel at though; there were no stars that night and even the moonlight seemed dull and fading as it couldn't reflect off the warm water and torch lit area of the baths but it gave her something to look at. She didn't want to look at Sakura when she said this.

"I envy you."

Sakura stopped, looking to Serendine with disbelief painted all over her face. Was there perhaps something about baths that made royals confess ludicrous things? Because if this was just coincidence, it had a rather cruel sense of humor.

"I'm sorry, it's just-what?" Sakura blurted.

Serendine smiled at the girl's genuine surprise and disbelief. "I don't see why you're so surprised. I envy you, I really do."

"Why-you're a princess." Sakura pointed out. "A princess with a djinn metal vessel, she earned defeating me, besting me. I really don't understand what I could have that you would be envious of."

"Yeah, neither do I." Judar chided, swimming over to the girls, to join them against the bath wall. Sakura splashed some water in Judar's face and giggled when he squirmed and grabbed for a towel, muttering some plot for revenge.

"Your strength, is a start." Serendine stated. "Then there's your kindness, your intellect, integrity, array of skills."

"But I'm no one." Sakura said, surely. "Serendine. You are a skilled fight; very intelligent, without a doubt extremely beautiful and even if you are not in your country, that doesn't change the fact that you are royal- a person of great importance. I'm the one who should be envious."

"Sakura, I'm weak." Serendine turned completely to the pinkette, her eyes gleaming with determination. "I'm envious of you because you don't have to rely on anyone."

Sakura smiled sadly, swiping a hand through her hair. "That's because I've felt alone in this world for so long. I didn't think I'd find anyone who would be able to get rid of it, until Sinbad."

Serendine pressed on, "But you are never a burden to anyone; you don't make anyone carry your weight."

It was laughable at times; to hear someone talk about her like this, call her strong and reliable. Imagining her as someone with so much to offer. Hoisting her up on a pedestal of their own assumptions. Which would crumble like charcoal sitting in a fire, if they knew about her previous self.

"Neither do you. You've resolved to become stronger." Sakura pointed out, assured. "It just takes time for your efforts to show once you resolve, but you shouldn't give up. And as for never being a burden-You haven't met my past self."

"What are you talking about? I find it hard to believe you were ever weak but, you do have the strength to subdue any man and conquer dungeons on your own. An enticement that draws people to you and makes them trust you quickly-like King Armakan and everyone at this company. You are brave; brave enough to pose as a slave to rescue Sinbad. You are so loyal and dedicated as well to those you consider your friends. I really admire you for that."

Sakura breathed out, flattered but unwilling to show it, feeling she had to right to. "You shouldn't."

"Will you tell me why?"

Sakura elaborated to Serendine, giving a brief summary of how she was back in her genin days (while avoiding accidently sharing any information that would hint she wasn't from this world), She told Serendine the tale of the younger her. The girl with no particular skills or ability to do what needed to be done; who was always standing in the background while others took the lead and the only valuable quality of her at the time-her intelligence was marred greatly by her own arrogance. She confessed to Serendine, the way in which she had lost someone she cared about because she was too weak to stop him from leaving; from walking the path of darkness for the sake of power. She wasn't able to stop his suffering.

Sakura smiled softly, looking at her reflection in the water; no matter how many times she retold the story, or how many ways she rewrote it, the outcome would always be the same and it would always cause her pain. Through the ripples, she could just barely make out her face. She could still see herself clearly. "I'm really not as strong as you think. I know exactly what it's like to be weak."

"Sakura…." Serendine was near speechless. She wouldn't have even fathomed Sakura ever being the way she described herself, but she spoke with such honesty it was impossible to believe otherwise. It could make the most incomprehensible thing seem sensible and factual. Yet at the same moment, Serendine felt herself further drawn towards Sakura. She had felt a gap between her and the other members of Sindria trading company. They had gotten along due to their close relations and references towards one another, but Serendine didn't know it was to this extent. Both had lost something important and both were still in pain from that loss, aiming to become stronger.

"So believe me, I'm not someone to admire or envy." Sakura muttered.

The water rippled as Serendine moved through the water with purpose and determination. Sakura nearly slipped and lost her balance when Serendine glided in front of her. Serendine had wrapped her arms around Sakura's shoulders, pulling her forward with the slightest hesitance. Sakura had remained immobile, her cheek resting on the older girl's shoulder as there was a slight height difference between the two.

"Serendine?" Sakura called, unsurely. As though she was attempting to confirm the girl's identity because she was certain this wasn't a move that Serendine would make.

The Parthevia princess felt her face grow warmer and knew she was blushing. "I-I'm not very good at this sort of thing but-but I-I don't want to see you look like this. So please; if you have any other worries you haven't told me about, please tell me now. So that we can put it to rest-together."

Serendine was a very reserved person for the most part and she didn't come off as someone who favored intimacy. Suppose it was a trend amongst royalty, they were unable to touch the world in the same manner as everyone else and it had created a gap within them in which they struggled to cross.

"I'm scared." Sakura admitted blankly, bluntly. "Lately, I've been worrying about the future."

"Tell me." Serendine urged, holding Sakura tighter. She could pick up the slight sweetness from Sakura's scent that danced on her taste buds from their proximity. Serendine stiffened slightly when Sakura wrapped her arms around her shoulders, taking comfort in her embrace and letting down a few of her defenses to bring them closer to a state of empathy.

Sakura told Serendine about her conversation with King Rashid concerning Sinbad and how it had brought up doubts within herself. Whether or not she was going to be able to be with him once he became king. How she had come to realize just how unprepared she was for that transition. The complications that came with being royalty. She didn't care to think about becoming a queen, but she at least hoped to still be with Sinbad as they were now. He didn't seem the type for marriage or settling, nor the type for family; but that didn't bother her nearly as much as the thought of having to leave him some day.

"I'm afraid I'll lose him, because I won't have what it takes to stand beside him anymore." Warm tears fell from Sakura's eyes and glided onto Serendine's skin into the water and in return, Serendine's tears followed in example. "I've been trying to learn as much as I could on my own but, it's not enough. I don't' know what I am missing and that's the problem, I can't even figure out what I need to do this."

"I understand now. I'm sorry Sakura." Serendine spoke with such calmness in her voice that anyone would wonder if it was truly genuine and yet Sakura could feel that it was.

"Lame!" Judar then took that moment to finally speak after listening to the girl's. After his interruption, they finally seemed to recall his presence and pulled away to look at him. Glaring slightly at his uncaring brush off of their feelings.

"Judar-

"So you're both weak? So what?" Judar stood up, hands on his hips, looking down at the two girls. "Whining and crying about it isn't going to change anything. If you don't like the way you are just make yourself stronger. You're both king's candidates; that means that you have the potential to become kings."

Judar pointed accusingly at them as they remained still in the water, unable to make another ripple when they saw the expression on the boy's face, his tone laced firmly with annoyance. "You stopped being weak after you conquered the dungeons! So quit your whining!"

That might have been the first and last time Judar would ever say anything remotely encouraging and remedy to a painful situation. His harsh words were exactly what they needed to climb out of their sorrowful pit of dismal and bring them into a new light and resolve. When they looked at one another, their eyes had the same determined shine in them, mirroring each other.

"Judar is right." Serendine wiped her face, clear of the tears she shed. She then gripped Sakura's shoulders firmly. "Crying a river will not drown our problems but perhaps we can solve each other's. Sakura; I will teach you everything I know about what it means to be a royal and inform you to the best of my ability."

"And I, will help you master your djinn equip Serendine."

Sakura then took both of Serendine's hands in her own and held them up, bringing her head forward to rest her forehead against the princesses clenched fingers. "Serendine; thank you so much for helping me keep him."

* * *

"Come on Serendine, you can't be running out of steam this early." Judar huffed. Sakura shook her head at the boy's brashness. Judar had clearly prove to be a magi during their training sessions, giving points on how to better control their magoi and use it sufficiently. He had even told them about the qualities of magic. When Sakura had started training for her djinn equip, she had the same problem as Serendine was having as far as running out of magoi came. However, she learned to control it sooner because of her practice with chakra.

"It's okay." Sakura assured, leaning down to the other pinkette to wipe Serendine's forehead with a towel.

"I don't understand, I still can't maintain my power." Serendine panted.

"You're overthinking things." Sakura said.

"But Judar told us it takes a certain amount of focus." Serendine pressed, her fist gripping into the earth.

"And he's not wrong, but your overthinking is creating anxiety that draws you away from focus." Sakura sighed, she had hoped Serendine would figure out her own way of mastering her djinn equip but it seemed that she was still struggling.

"Perhaps we should continue this tomorrow," Serendine said "It's already late-

"No." Sakura firmly held Serendine's wrist. "You're going to get this today."

Judar grinned, "Yeah come on Serendine. Where'd all that determination go; you leave it in the baths?"

Serendine seemed to come back, forcing herself to stand. "No, I am not giving up!"

Sakura and Judar glanced at one another, smiling and then back at Serendine.

"That's the spirit Serendine."

"Alright," Sakura came forward, her arms folded. "I might have a way for you to draw out the power."

Before Serendine was able to ask any questions, Sakura covered her mouth and told her not to ask anything, not to say a word. Judar stepped aside, watching with a curious expression, his hands behind his head in a carefree manner. Sakura ordered Serendine to close her eyes-promptly reminding her not to ask questions.

"Okay now what do you see?"

"Darkness." Serendine answered honestly.

"Right, now I want you to picture that darkness-not just from your vision but in your mind. Make it completely dark."

Judar tapped Sakura's thigh. "What the heck are you doing interloper?"

"Shh." Sakura instructed Judar. "This is something I learned a while ago; I'm not sure if it will work but it's worth a try but you need to be quite."

Judar shrugged but didn't say anything further.

"Alright Serendine, now I want you to picture an imaginary sport in the center of the darkness; a small white bright dot and keep your focus there. Do not allow yourself to drift from the darkness for an instant."

Serendine could see nothing but true darkness, she envisioned the bright spot in her mind as Sakura instructed. For whatever reason, the pinkette's voice sounded far off, like a drift. Her reality felt distorted and she was beginning to forget that physically, she was still standing in the forest. Even the presence of Sakura and Judar, was becoming distant.

"See the dot slowly beginning to grow, Serendine. Its size increasing slowly,"

Serendine could see the dot growing, becoming more visible. It felt as though this was happening on its own accord and not within in the confines of her mind which she ruled.

"Keep focusing on that light in the dark Serendine." Sakura said firmly. "Do not wander yet. Now hold up your metal vessel."

Judar and Sakura watched as Serendine drew her sword to stand up straight in front of her, the blade pointing up to the darkening sky. Serendine seemed completely calm, it was as if she here but not. Deep in her own thoughts; which was what Sakura had aimed for. This was something similar to meditation but it was made to draw in focus and better control the flow of energy within the body. Something that Sakura had come up with while she was still attempting to store up chakra for the Strength of a hundred seal. To focus chakra to a specific part of your body for a certain period of time, only Sakura had reversion it to help Serendine draw out and maintain her magoi and control it. The fact that Serendine would be using chakra instead of magoi was what made Sakura unsure if it was going to work. That was why she told Judar she didn't know if it would have the same effect.

Although she was about to find out.

Despite her own anxiousness for results, Sakura spoke without wavering. "Call on Zepar's djinn equip."

Serendine's lips moved, a soft chant left her lips as she called upon the djinn of spirit and puppetry. The eight pointed start on her swords hilt emitted a bright light that could fill the darkest room. Serendine's body became engulfed in that light, falling over her light a blanket and then shifting to the shape of her body before shrinking it.

When Judar and Sakura opened their eyes, rubbing and waiting for their vision to settle. They laid eyes upon Serendine in her djinn equip. She had succeeded in achieving it once, but she hadn't been able to maintain it and since then; her efforts to allow it to happen again continued to elude her. Until now.

Zepar's djinn equip was more in relation to the djinn than any of the other djinn equips Sakura had seen by far. Turning Serendine's hair a dark sea green; giving her horns that resembled coral, black wings like a bat and from below her torso, she had a piece of white fabric wrapped around her, her legs transformed into hooves covered with a brisk fur and a long tail. In short, she looked a lot like Zepar, including his physical statue.

Judar whistled, "Well; she's not turning back right away-looks like your little trick worked."

Sakura watched Serendine as she stared at herself, her eyes wide with surprise and then she looked up at Sakura, a bright smile spreading across her face. "This power-I can feel it-I can maintain it!"

Serendine took to the sky with a foreign excitement, she cried out from her accomplishment. She did a few twists and turns in the air before coming back down to Judar and Sakura who waited patiently for her euphoria to calm. Serendine floated in front of the two now, looking over her form again, taking in the new power.

"Good job Serendine."

Taking her original form, Serendine smiled before she charged towards Sakura catching the pinkette off guard and managing to topple her onto the grass. Serendine gave her a tight vice like hug before pushing up on her hands to hover above her. "It's all thanks to you Sakura!"

Sakura smiled, reaching up to touch Serendine's face gently; which in turn changed the princess's expression to surprise. "No Serendine; that was you."

Serendine had stilled as she felt the soft caress of Sakura's hand on her face. She still hovered over her, the way Sakura smiled at her then, her eyes glazed in happiness and a proud smile on her face made Serendine's heart pound.

Judar coughed loudly and Serendine quickly moved off of Sakura, in haste to avert her eyes and cool her suddenly warmed face.

"Well; this is all well and good now that Serendine can use her djinn equip but we still have to work on your magic attacks." Judar instructed.

The attacks was something that came more naturally once a djinn equip was established, at least that was how Sakura had experienced it.

"Well." Sakura drew out her blade, smiling at Serendine. "Since we both can use our djinn equips now-how about a little test run?"

Serendine gave Sakura the same smile, turning to face the girl, she held up her sword. "It would be my pleasure."

Judar held up his wand, pointing it forward between the spaces of the two girls. "This should be fun."

* * *

Sakura, Serendine and Judar had sparred vigorously against one another till the sky had completely blackened, the stars came out and the moon shone high above, playing as the only source of light. Serendine, Judar and Sakura were lying on their backs, their arms and legs spread on the grass in a manner where their heads were the only part of their bodies that were close together as they made a T, Judar serving as the single vertical line and Sakura and Serendine making a longer horizontal. All were experiencing fatigue by now; but only two were willing to admit it as one was too prideful (Judar).

Judar had his eyes closed, but he wasn't sleeping, being the first to disrupt the quiet that had fallen over all of them for the last few minutes. "I was right that was fun."

"Yeah, I especially enjoyed the part where you turned my attacks against me." Sakura commented. Judar apparently excelled in ice magic and with Gaap's base element being water, the odds were not in her favor. He was also a rather ruthless fighter, an unusual taste for the prospect that was spine chilling.

"You provided the ammunition," Judar said back. "At least Serendine thought to use her abilities to break the ice shards I sent to her."

"That was luck on my part, I barely realized what to do before you aimed at me." Serendine breathed, feeling the nights wind brush against her sweat covered skin.

"I was aiming at both of you."

Sakura snickered; regardless their training had proven to be quite fruitful. Both Sakura and Serendine were able to get a better handle on their abilities and they were aware of each other's. Serendine had expressed her interest in having a battle with Sinbad, which was why she hadn't wanted to mention to him that she was training. After Sakura heard this, she was intrigued herself on what it might be like to face off against Sinbad; she had seen him battle before but she hadn't gone against him in their djinn equips before. It struck her interest.

"I can't wait for you to show off your power to Sinbad." Judar told Serendine.

"I just hope I don't exhaust myself like this."

"It's because you stalled." Judar stated.

Sakura continued to stare up at the stars, Serendine's and Judar's voices becoming nothing more than humming in her ears; her eyes closing in content, her exhaustion had opened her and allowed peace to settle into her being and for once she managed to fall asleep without going through the list of work she needed to complete for the next day, without the troubling thoughts of her uncertain future or of Barbarossa and her secret he held in his hands.

Serendine heard soft breathing above her and propped herself up to turn and see Sakura. Her eyes were closed effortlessly, her cheeks slightly flushed and mouth slightly ajar, she glistened under the moonlight.

Judar looked up to realize Sakura had fallen asleep. "Oh come on; I'm not sleeping out here tonight. Let's just leave her and head back."

The young magi stood up, dusting off his clothes before turning to look at the two pinkettes. "Serendine,"

"You go on and wait at the path back to Balbadd, I'll bring Sakura."

Judar shrugged and started walking away, towards the thick darkness that the trees provided. Serendine turned back, her head hovering above Sakura's. She shifted carefully to move her head further over. She waited, waited for any sign of Sakura readying to wake but her eyes remained closed. A few moments passed and Serendine could still feel her heart beating wildly, more furiously than any other time she could think of in her life. This was because of the gaze she held for the young pink haired girl; whose smile seemed to lighten Serendine's grief and ease her troubles. Sinbad's partner; she didn't know when or how but Serendine had felt herself drawn to Sakura. There was no explanation as to how her feelings for the pinkette had progressed to this level of affection; she hadn't thought it was possible. Serendine had never met someone like Sakura before; that she was certain of. In their first meeting; Sakura had given Serendine her first taste at friendship without strings attached; they were able to open up towards one another so quickly-which was not something she was used to. Being a royal had created an extreme sense of caution in case they were aiming to use her as a means to an end. Yes; she was close to her attendants and they were loyal, but their mutual friendship hadn't been instant which drew away from the natural taste. Then there was their battle in Zepar's dungeon; when Sakura had been defeated, Serendine had felt a strong sense of dismal; that Sakura had dissipated when she smiled reassuringly at her. Somehow through this time; Serendine's feelings for Sakura had escalated but the princess hadn't entirely understood that they might be reaching further than the point of friendship because she had not in fact ever felt like this towards anyone. That included her former fiancé Barbarossa.

Serendine placed her hand onto Sakura's face, as Sakura had done to her, brushing her fingers along the girl's soft, slightly matted skin, smearing the dirt on Sakura's cheek. Her eyes fell onto the girl's lips, open slightly and without any real sense of consciousness, Serendine's entire body remained still from the neck down, but her head was moving downward. Her eyes fully open now, without a single blink as not to flash away the small thread of resolve she had somehow grasped painfully between her fingers.

" _Sinbad's ideals aren't vague, they are just various which makes it seem so. A perfect world doesn't exist-I know that and you can call it taking advantage of circumstances and benefiting from the fact that everyone wishes for some version of an ideal world. But Sinbad has been working towards his goal of this ideal world and I believe that he will create it. No matter what you are going to say to argue and attempt to sway me. That scale is not going to move, so it won't matter how logical your comeback is because I honestly would have thought of it already myself."_

Serendine's breathing grew slower, as she cautiously moved downward. She fists the grass tightly, ripping some of it from the ground.

" _I'm afraid I'll lose him, because I won't have what it takes to stand beside him anymore." Warm tears fell from Sakura's eyes and glided onto Serendine's skin into the water and in return, Serendine's tears followed in example. "I've been trying to learn as much as I could on my own but, it's not enough. I don't' know what I am missing and that's the problem, I can't even figure out what I need to do this."_

Serendine's vision of Sakura become blurred as she drew nearer, the darkness of Serendine's shadow grew over Sakura's face. Her heart felt as though it was attempting to hit her ribcage, increasing its speed the closer Serendine drew.

 _Sakura then took both of Serendine's hands in her own and held them up, bringing her head forward to rest her forehead against the princesses clenched fingers. "Serendine; thank you so much for helping me keep him."_

Warm droplets of clear liquid fell on Sakura's face, nothing she could feel in her unconscious state. Serendine's shoulders shook as she sobbed quietly, when her skin had just barely made contact with Sakura, she had stopped. Able to feel Sakura breathe on her own lips but didn't move forward or back.

"I-I-just..." Serendine still felt that pull, that urge to move just for another half a second but she didn't. She could not bring herself to truly act upon her own desires; not when the object of her affections was so clearly devoted to another. What's more; she knew that she would not feel correct unless she was able to see Sakura's reaction; she'd rather suffer the painful truth than relish in ignorant bliss.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Serendine."

Serendine gasped, sitting up completely and nearly crashing, seeing Judar looking down at her with his hands on his hips. At that moment, he didn't look like a child. His red eyes shone like rubies under the moonlights gleam, yet they had a dark tinge that promised no good.

"Judar, I thought I told you to wait for me."

The boy smirked, cocking his head to the side. "What you were about to do…It might seem like a good idea, but an interloper can become your undoing."

Serendine frowned, Judar and Zepar had addressed Sakura as an interloper but Serendine was yet to understand in what context it was to refer to someone as that and what Sakura had done to earn it.

"What do you mean Judar?"

Judar shook his head, turning around. "I'm just saying; you wouldn't want to risk doing something that could undo what you're working towards right?"

"It's not like that."

"Oh? You can say that but it won't change your actions and trust me, this girl." Judar gestured to Sakura. "Is better off left for Sinbad to handle."

Serendine looked down at Sakura and then to her sword and back again. She moved to pick up the sleeping girl, who wasn't as light as she appeared but nothing that Serendine couldn't carry back to the company. Serendine walked forward, with Sakura sleeping in her arms.

"About this don't-

"I won't say a thing." Judar assured.

With that they had both agreed, to leave events with tonight. That way, when the sun rises the next day; the same night would never reoccur again.

* * *

"Huh? You want to have a djinn equip battle with me?"

"Yes." Sakura and Serendine affirmed, standing in front of the young male with similar expressions on their faces. Determination mixed with restlessness.

Sinbad was fairly lost on the nature of the situation; firstly he had noted that Sakura and Serendine were ducking out on work in the day. Serendine was understandable for a time but then Sakura also started disappearing more often until the previous day when she hadn't been seen the entire day. Now she was standing with Serendine and Judar in the office while he was in the middle of work, demanding a djinn metal vessel battle. Something which he wasn't entirely certain of agreeing to.

"What's the reason for this exactly?" Sinbad asked. "I mean there's no real point right? We'd just be wasting our magoi."

Judar quickly interjected, his tone of arrogance and confidence irking Sinbad. "You're just afraid of losing aren't you?"

Sinbad pinched Judar's cheeks hard, pulling his face. "That's not what I said!" He then diverted his attention to Sakura. "And Sakura; why are you suddenly bringing something like this up?"

"I'm just interested in seeing how I'd fair against you in battle." Sakura replied, "And I'll only be using one djinn that I recently mastered."

"Is that why you've been ghosting around the company lately?"

Sakura didn't respond; she hadn't thought Sinbad would notice since the company was so busy lately. However it seems that he finally caught on to her disappearing act; it had probably happened round about the time she had made her presence nearly none existent in the day, but because she had gotten her work done in the night she didn't think it would be a problem. The expression on Sinbad's face said otherwise.

"Come on Sinbad," Judar coaxed. "Don't' you want to test your abilities? You wouldn't do something as lame as running from a match right?"

Sinbad's expression was completely severe, it didn't matter how many times Sakura had seen him look that way she didn't ever feel for getting accustomed to it. Thankfully, it was usually fleeting.

"Fine." Sinbad sighed, not defeated by exasperated in a way. "I'll agree to have a battle with the two of you. I'm not particularly interested in fighting, but I am in seeing your djinn's abilities."

Sakura smiled, "That's fine with me, how about you Serendine?"

The princess smiled back at Sakura, nodded. Relief filling her, as though she had avoided a great calamity. She might not have been able to look at Sakura the same if she had acted completely upon her thoughts. Eventually allowing her true feelings to slip and cause complications that would cause more harm than good.

* * *

Word spread fast in the company about Sinbad, Sakura and Serendine's triple djinn equip battle that would be taking place and it had called for an audience. Ja'far, Hinahoho, Mystras, Drakon, Sahel, Tamir and Judar were eagerly waiting for the battle to commence. Right in front of the company building.

The three drew their djinns simultaneously as you would draw weapons in a duel and they spoke their chants to call on their djinn's power.

"Spirit of souls and puppetry."

"Spirit of falsehood and prestige"

"Spirit of inclination and consonance"

"Dwell in my body"

Everyone felt their breaths catch in their throats in the instant as the three spoke their djinn's names.

"Zepar!"

"Valefor!"  
"Gaap!"

Each became wrapped in the metal vessels pure power, before it started shifting and shaping them, dressing Sinbad, Sakura and Serendine in their djinn equips. Sinbad was the first to take to the sky in his djinn equip and Serendine followed after. Those who were curious to see Zepar's djinn equip were somewhat disappointed and rather amused by the stocky appearance of the djinn equip, even going as far as to believe the match was decided (such as Hinahoho and Mystras).

Gaap's full body djinn equip lengthened and thickened her hair to a mix of pink tinged with silver and blue; a small blue gem in the center of her forehead with a golden crown on her head, adorned with pearls. Her upper body was mostly exposed, aside from the silver scale like armor that covered her breast and spread across the one side of waist and a flowing skirt that spread and split the material from her thighs, exposing her legs that had also been covered with the scale armor. Her djinn's weapon held firmly in hand.

"Definitely haven't seen this one before." Sinbad called from above Sakura. He held up his hands out. "Of course it doesn't matter what form you take."

"Cocky as ever." Sakura observed, holding out her spear, looking back between Sinbad and Serendine. This was a three way battle; therefore each would be facing against two opponents at any time.

Sinbad chose to take initiative and made the first attack; forming dozens and dozens of ice shards pointing sharply and directly at Serendine and Sakura in their individual placements in the sky.

"Garufo Zairu."

Serendine did exactly as Sakura had predicted when Sinbad directed the shards of ice at her. It was like watching a repeat of her battle with Judar, only this time, she was far more lax and knew what to do. A wave of sound emitted in visible ripples around her and turned the deadly shards of ice to soft and easily breakable fragments.

When the shards of ice came towards Sakura, she gripped her spear tightly and draw it back over her shoulder, water gathered from the nearby streams that ran through Balbadd at the tip of the blade before swinging it hard, when the water came into contact with the ice, steam was created. Sakura's influence over attribute excelled regular boundaries. She could give a command through the water and it would obey. She had heated the water and that was enough to melt the magoi infused ice.

"Well…" Sinbad trailed, impressed that both girls managed to evade his attacks with their own.

Sakura raised her blade into the air, gathering water once again as they came together in a puddle about the size of a big pond, hovering over her head. The water began to move in a way that wen against its natural flow, showing it was clearly being controlled, like a mold of clay. It took the shape of its wielder's desire. In triangular points, the water drifted from its shape and then with great speed, shot out in all directions like arrows. Going for Sinbad and Serendine.

Sinbad flew back without turning his eyes away from Sakura's attack, he held out his hands and just as the attack was about to reach him, he froze it and watched as it shattered into tiny fragments. Serendine had repeated the same attack she used on Sinbad's ice; the water lost its shape and fell to the ground.

"Okay, I'm getting nervous now." Mystras said "They should've had this battle in a more secluded area."

"I agree." Ja'far hissed, his eyes fixated on the battle. He looked from Sinbad, to Serendine to Sakura-

"Wait." Ja'far looked around in the sky, frowning when he realized that there was one figure missing. The other's seemed to realize it as well.

"Um, guys where is Sakura?" asked Mystras.

Hinahoho held his hand above his forehead to block out the sun and joined in the search. "I don't see her."

Judar smirked, "Ah, I get it."

Sinbad and Serendine were looking around them, wondering what had suddenly become of the girl. Neither had gone to attack each other for they felt more concerned about the missing opponent. Serendine was suddenly sent through the air, by a harsh force that had managed to cut her down her arm.

"What?!" Sinbad was distracted by Serendine until he felt the flesh on his back being cut into, like a sharp blade gliding across it. He called out in alarm and quickly pushed forward in the air to get away from the impending force. When he turned around, he saw blood, its crimson contents in the air and dripping down as if falling from the tip of something.

Then he saw Sakura, water fell from her body like a cover of a silk mirror. Sakura stood now completely visible.

"Convert water into steam and refract the light; it's really simple." Sakura said, putting a hand on her hip.

Sinbad smirked, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were taking this battle too seriously."

"I'd say you're not taking it seriously enough." Sakura pointed past Sinbad's form. He turned halfway, to see a flashing blur that was Serendine flying towards him. Sakura had already flown higher as she knew exactly what Serendine was about to do and that it would be best to keep her distance.

"Hmp, what is she going to do with that small body?"

Serendine had answered Sinbad's question without having to say a word, she flew straight passed him, but he felt as though he had endured the slashing of another blade that sliced three of his fingers from his right hand.

Sakura quickly drew her blade and gathered water, she held out her spear with both hands and spun it around vigorously, the water also started spinning, resembling the shape of a tornado that directed towards Serendine when she came towards Sakura. This slowed down her movements, giving Sakura the chance to evade her attack.

"Idiot!" Sakura yelled down to Sinbad, his hand dripping blood, in good compliment to the wound on his back. "Zepar controls sound, which vibrates in the air."

"Meaning, I caused the air around me to vibrate, slicing up anything that comes into contact with it. It has a small range but it's a powerful attack."

"No wonder Sakura went to such lengths to evade it." Sinbad smirked "I can't come anywhere near you then, but that doesn't matter."

Sakura and Serendine stopped, their vision of Sinbad becoming a haze as they felt as though they were in a dreamlike state. Sakura realized exactly what this was. She had seen it used on the queen of Artemyra. Stagnation.

"Oh shit." Sakura realized that she wasn't going to be able to move much, like being frozen only you weren't aware of it yourself.

"So you figure it out." Sinbad questioned.

Sakura glared at him, it was a wonder why he hadn't used Baal to battle against them. Between Sinbad's djinn's, Valefor's djinn equip would be considered more docile. The again, Sinbad had his own morals about fighting member of the opposite sex. She didn't know if it was his ideals or preservation but it annoyed Sakura to no end. She should have known she wouldn't get a serious battle from him.

When Sakura looked at Serendine, she saw her draw back her head, her mouth in the appearance of taking in breath and she knew what was to come. The attack that ended her battle with Serendine in an instant. Hoping to be quick enough for this, Sakura drew her hands to her ears. She might not have made it time if Serendine wasn't also under stagnation's influence.

Sinbad and the other's (excluding Judar) weren't aware of Zepar's ability and thus all become victims of Serendine's attack when she opened her mouth, an eight pointed start shining in the center of her mouth, a loud, piercing sound spread across the entire area, reaching far out in Ballbadd and effecting everyone with the ability to hear. Their consciousness becoming lost to the sound as if under a spell.

When Sinbad fell unconscious, his djinn equip vanished and he began falling from the sky. Stagnation had also worn out in that instant, so Sakura sped towards Sinbad. Catching him before he hit the ground; the wounds he had received previously had vanished along with his djinn equip. Though he was unconscious; just like everyone would be in and out of the company and probably without a good distance of the area.

"Good job Serendine," Judar praised, still holding his hands over his ears.

"Wow." Sakura muttered as she looked around her, Serendine was especially loud when unleashing that attack. Serendine hadn't use her power to this extent when the two had sparred the first time, not she could see some actual results.

Serendine was still learning Zepar's attacks and Sakura hadn't figured out why Serendine insisted on battling Sinbad as soon as she had figured out how to use her djinn equip yet not entirely master it. The effects were therefore not long lasting and everyone woke up barely a few minutes later, dizzy with ringing ears but awake. Serendine apologized to everyone about her attack but since there didn't seem to be any real damage, it was easily brushed off.

"You fought well for you first time." Sinbad praised "This power will definitely be useful. I'll be counting on you."

Serendine smiled, "Yeah."

Sinbad then looked at Sakura next to him, "Why were you fighting like you were trying to kill me?"

Sakura gaped at Sinbad, "Because that's the way I've been taught to fight. Why were you fighting like you didn't want to kill me?"

"Why would I do that?"

Ja'far shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he listened to Sakura and Sinbad begin their antics. They always seemed to find conflict somewhere when they were together, yet they did just as well battling against it as a united front.

"So that means, we can count this match as our win right Sinbad?" Judar boasted.

"I didn't really lose" Sinbad stated

"Um, you were knocked out Sinbad." Sakura pointed, crossing her arms. "That's a loss."

"Yeah, don't be a sore loser!" Judar exclaimed accusingly.

"Shut up! I was only fighting to see the power of their metal vessels!"

Sakura scoffed, "Yeah sure but you still lost."

"Like you're one to talk, you lost too!" Sinbad pointed at Sakura to which the pinkette quickly retaliated.

"At least I wasn't knocked unconscious!"

Sinbad smirked, "Uh huh, you know if I used Baal I would have defeated you quickly."

Sakura glared at Sinbad now, roughly knocking her forehead against his. "You are one arrogant sore loser."

"He is." Judar nodded.

"Shut up!"

* * *

"You really did a good job Serendine." Judar said as he and Serendine walked through the empty corridors of Sindria trading company. With no other presence around them, which was good given the nature of their conversation.

Judar sighed, placing his hands behind his head. "Those guys don't suspect a think about Zepar's real power-good thing you didn't tell that interloper."

Serendine had a semi-solemn face as she looked at the young magi; speaking in a low tone. "Is this really alright Judar?"

"Of course." Judar said without a moment of hesitation. "You have the word of a magi. Let's change the world together Serendine."

Serendine averted her gaze to the outside, catching sight of Sinbad and Sakura heading inside. Their lips moving simultaneously, but the distance would not allow the sound of their voice to carry to Serendine's ears. Although they appeared to be arguing by their expression and just as quickly as she saw them, their faces changed, softening as Sinbad threw his arm over Sakura's shoulders. Kissing the side of her head before the pinkette pushed his face away, smiling.

Without taking her eyes off of the two, Serendine spoke. "Right."

 **Surprise! I wasn't too sure about having Serendine see Sakura in that light. I figured this would make things a little more interesting in the story. I am already halfway through with the next chapter, so keep a look out.**

 **In the mean time….**

 **DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW.**


	36. Lessons

**Hello everyone, holidays are finally kicking off and that means I can do everything that I love without limits which includes writing this story. Also I have posted on Devianart an image of Gaap's djinn equip, just go to Katsura369 to check it out.**

 **Read and Enjoy!**

* * *

Sakura enjoyed board games; it hadn't taken her long to realize that most took more than luck to win, but real analytical ability and intellect, which she excelled at. She also found that despite the different rules and regulations for each game, each had a purpose as well as one thing in common; there was always a way to either win or lose. However; Sakura did not understand how playing chess was supposed to fit in as part of her lessons with Serendine.

After leaning their djinn equips and battling Sinbad; Serendine and Sakura had put a stop to their secret training regime and started taking the time to get together for other matters. Serendine had offered to teach Sakura all she knew about being a royal.

The two girls were in Serendine's chambers, sitting on the bed with a chess board in front of them. "What exactly are we doing Serendine?" Sakura asked, moving one of her pawns, one she intended to ensure would reach the end.

"You said you wanted to have what it takes to always be by Sinbad's side by learning what it takes to be a royal." Serendine replied simply, moving her own pawns.

"By playing chess?" Sakura raised her eyebrow, looking at the board. She moved her next pawn, skipping the position of one on a block. Creating her defense.

"Yes,"

"Shouldn't we be going through documents in politics or-

"You can learn all of this on your own, what I am teaching you is going to be far more important." Serendine stated firmly. "It doesn't matter how much knowledge you acquire if you do not know the correct way to implement it."

Sakura frowned, watching Serendine move her black pawn on the board; she left it wide open for the taking and Sakura took it. "I'm still confused."

"You are going to learn the fundamentals of being a royal in this game." Serendine looked up from the board to meet Sakura's eye. Serendine moved her bishop and took Sakura's pawn with her bishop, whose path had been cleared by Sakura taking Serendine's pawn. "So you had better play like your life depends on it."

Looking more carefully, Sakura moved her pawn, in hope of drawing out Serendine while giving her knight a free path to her bishop.

Three games and nearly two hours later; Sakura was still yet to claim a victory as Serendine had bested her in three games. Sakura wasn't a novice to the game, but she hadn't seen the kind of moves that Serendine made. She tended to take Sakura by surprise at times. She was as formidable as Kouen and that was one of the highest forms of praise Sakura could give.

"Alright," Serendine sighed, as she finished fixing up her pieces for the next game. "That should be enough of a demonstration."

"Serendine I don't usually say this, but I am completely clueless right now. Will you please just tell me what this game is really about and how it relates to my problem?"

Serendine didn't respond immediately, instead she made the first move of her pawn. They had continued to switch the board around to take turns with the first move. It was Sakura first, then Serendine, Sakura and now Serendine once again.

Serendine pointed to the board, "Sakura, you know the rules of chess right?"

Sakura nodded at the odd question. She might not have won any of their matches by far but she certainly knew the rules of the game.

"Then tell me, what is the most important piece required to win?"

"The king," Sakura stated. "If the king is captured, the game is over."

Shaking her head, Serendine pointed to the block beside the king on her side, "It's the queen. In most cases when the king is in check, the queen is the one with the best ability to remove the threat of capture in the next move."

Serendine took the queen and held it up to Sakura. "Once the queen is captured the king is useless. Which is why she is usually the last sacrificed."

Serendine gestured back to the board, "All of these pieces, pawns, knights, rooks, bishop, they all have one role-to protect the king. The king is a symbol of power, as I have said before but he cannot do much alone. You were right that if a king was captured the game was over, that is why there are so many pieces that stand in front of him. So that he does not have to and risk ending the game early."

Sakura was begging to understand that this chess game wasn't so much about the game as it was about the real life of royalty and their positions. Serendine was using the game as a representation of reality. A clever metaphor.

Serendine knew that Sakura was well equip to play chess; that was why she had offered up this method of explanation to her. This game would serve as a reference as the pieces became the embodiment of something so much further than the rules of the game. "The enemy knows that a king is vulnerable without a queen. That is when they will strategize to seize his power. Even a pawn can take down a king-or replace a queen."

Although Serendine did not word it; Sakura felt that she shouldn't touch the chess board just yet, even though it was her turn. "So, how do you stop this from happening?"

"I first need to explain something's." Serendine said, holding up her hand. "You need to know that rank and position, is a poison. A sweet poison, but it can kill you if you fall for its temptation and do not limit yourself to the dosage."

"How do you limit yourself then?"

"That's up to you," Serendine pointed, "On what kind of ruler you want to be; you cannot play both sides. Pick one and decide whether you want to be the one to strike first or counter. It's literally black and white."

Sakura almost laughed at the reference to the chess board; she was definitely going to remember that piece of advice. "Dealing with matters, resolving conflict, no matter the case. You must always know where you stand on the matter and figure out what is the best move to make from there. For instance Sakura, how much are you willing to do for Sinbad?"

Sakura thought back to those moments in time she had with Sinbad and answered with no hesitance. "There are no limits; I would go to any lengths for Sinbad-even if I my entire being is against it."

Serendine asked something in confirmation. "What about killing for him?"

The pinkette's entire body stiffened; it had been sometime but the answer was clear to her ever since the slave rebellion that she and Sinbad initiated and the deaths that would forever weigh on her conscience. "Death is what I consider a last resort."

"But it's an option." Serendine nodded. This made it clear to Sakura that she wasn't going to be subjective in her lessons and in Sakura's responses. Personal opinions were not to be mentioned in order to invite conflict, merely to understand where they stood on matters. "As for your conscience, remember this-killing to avenge isn't murder; it's justice."

"Do you honestly believe that?" asked Sakura.

"You have to make yourself believe it."

That phrase would certainly be sticking to Sakura for a while. She had always assumed that murder was murder, no matter the state or circumstances that surrounds it; because death, could never truly be undone. However, if she wanted to have what she needed to remain by Sinbad's side; she may have to take up a different perspective or at least become more tolerant.

"Now when it comes to dealing with certain matters, a king does not make the decisions alone. He is influenced by those around him. He needs to think in long term-who is worth keeping at his side and who would prove to be more of a liability than a benefit in his reign."

Sakura nodded, understanding Serendine's implications perfectly. Although these terms and advice was coming from a long ruling monarch base and Sinbad's country was going to be completely new and probably set differently; there was no promise that the country wouldn't fall into the same traditions as the rest of the world. She also needed to consider that while Sinbad might take a different path, the rest of the world could not be expected to stray from theirs. They needed to find middle ground then and the best way to do that would be to know how both sides of ruling worked. These were after all fundamentals, as Serendine put it.

"You must of course still be wary of such people."

Sakura looked at Serendine questionably and the princess verified. "The kind who only support with their own agenda and reference to politics. This would make nearly every event, no matter how small or trivial with someone; a strategy for politics."

"So I suppose there isn't any real leisure for royalty?" Sakura asked, rubbing the side of her head.

"Not really; almost every single event is a strategy or plot for something greater. Be it finding information or covering for meetings. Which reminds me-royalty are typically made to put on an act. To keep the stability of power and often their heads-any sign of weakness is seen as a free tasting for power."

"How do you avoid this seemingly tight situation?"

"Always keep your enemy confused, if they do not know what you want they cannot predict what you are going to do next. At times make moves that have no purpose."

Then it clicked in Sakura's mind as she recalled their last three matches; Serendine had played often recklessly at times and Sakura believed she had either set some sort of strategy and masking it but the reality was otherwise.

Serendine smiled when she saw the look of realization on Sakura's face. "Figured it out?"

"You-You said to me, play like your life depends on it!" Sakura said "Of course I was going to take the match seriously, but you-you were completely fooling around."

"No I wasn't; I was masking carelessness so well that you mistook it for basic strategy and misread my moves on your own."

Sakura slapped her forehead, she looked at the chess board and moved her pawn, officially initiating the game. "Well not this time!"

Serendine moved one of her pieces. "A trick is far less exciting once you know the secret behind it; but it can also be cause for something greater. A special trick of your own."

A few minutes into the game and Sakura was watching the board pieces carefully. A few moves in and she and Serendine were playing on a completely different level compared to before. Sakura kept replaying Serendine's words through her mind, they were strong and it took a while for it to completely sink in. Although when it finally seemed to, Serendine's king was in check, now. All Sakura had to do was move her queen and take it.

"Well; that's it then." Sakura smiled before capturing her king. "Checkmate."

Serendine nodded her head in acknowledgment and then spoke of one more thing she wanted to alert Sakura of. Something she had waited for to the end. "Royalty is the symbol of strength, in a country and on a chess board. But just like in chess, it doesn't matter how certain victory may appear; power is always fleeting and it can be taken away with the stroke of a pen or the swing of a blade."

"Then how do you preserve that power?" Sakura asked, etching closer on the bed, her legs crossed over one another. Serendine looked down to the board again.

"A queen, is a symbol of power for the king just as the king is a symbol of power for his subjects. A queen must always be looking over her shoulder for those with the power to undo her. Do you know the best way to fend them off?"

Serendine closed her eyes when Sakura shook her head; understanding that this was the time to allow her nativity and vulnerability show. To fix what she had been lacking. What Serendine said next, made Sakura confirm that they were now looking beyond the chess board and into the real world.

"A queen's position never looks more open or vulnerable, than when she lacks an heir."

* * *

Serendine and Sakura's first lesson had set the flames which lit the path to the next stage of their lesson, which were more formal than playing a game of chess for hours on end. Serendine said it may have seemed foolish to deal with aesthetics, confessing she despised many of the lessons she was teaching back to Sakura; but they were a matter of caution. As the spider princess, she was viewed as unruly, ill-disciplined and invited many rumors (another danger). So when it came to certain events, she would put on a charade and make the higher ups waiting to see her fall, eat their words. Serendine was just as strict a tutor as Rurumu had been. Serendine would reference her to certain readings for politics and such; she would take Sakura out during her free time for more practical lessons. Which-unfortunately for Sakura; included dancing.

Her djinns continued to cheer her on in her efforts but even on this matter, their reassurances fell on deaf ears.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment." Sakura muttered, her hands on Serendine's shoulder and the other being held by Serendine's hand as Serendine played the part of the male dancer.

"If you focused half of the energy you spent complaining into remembering your steps; then we would have finished by now."

"I remember the steps but my body seems completely detached from my mind when I start moving."

Judar was sitting on Serendine's bed; with a big box of peaches he had taken from the kitchen in front of him as he watched the two girls. Since Sakura wanted to keep these lessons as private as when she was training to master her full body djinn equip, they had their lessons in Serendine's room-as Sinbad technically now shared a room with Sakura.

Judar laughed loudly when Sakura stumbled again over her feet and nearly over Serendine for what was the third time in the dance.

Sakura looked back at Judar, "I can't believe I'm saying this; but would you go and harass Ja'far for a little while?"

"No way, this is way more fun." Judar declared. "You basically just have to spin around in circles and you can't do that."

Sakura grumbled and huffed under her breath, Serendine gripped Sakura tighter. "You shouldn't let yourself become so distracted by prying eyes. It will only be worse in public events. Let's start from the beginning."

Sakura thought back to the time Kouen told her she wouldn't be able to survive in royal court and as her lessons commenced, she was becoming very convinced her was right.

Pulling apart, Sakura and Serendine stepped back a few paces from each other, with the room offering enough space for that.

"Okay and begin." Serendine stepped forward and Sakura followed, when the two were at a certain distance. They held up opposite arms to each other, their hands touching as they started taking slow steps around in a circle before abruptly changing direction and their hands.

"Don't look at your feet." Serendine instructed. Sakura quickly looked back to her. "Always look at your partner."

"Not sure how I expect my feet not to cross over each other when I can't look at them." Sakura said, keeping her head.

"You have no problem maneuvering in battle, be it on land or in the sky. Compared to that, this is nothing."

"Those come more naturally to me." Sakura said, turning with Serendine. "I'm use to fighting."

"As am I, but that doesn't mean we cannot expand our reach to other forms of art."

Sakura and Serendine lifted their free arms that were at their side and held it above them, connecting in an arch as they turned. Then they started stepping together in more coordinated movements, back and forth with Serendine leading.

"Just keep your eyes on me." Serendine reminded Sakura as they lowered their arch. Sakura did as she was instructed, stepping around Serendine, who slowly spun with her. Sakura gave a quick and delicate jump while circling Serendine halfway and spinning as she moved under the other pinkette's arm, which Serendine had lifted for her.

"Here comes the jump" Serendine gripped Sakura's waist and lifted her into the air; Sakura had to remind herself not to leap too high or she'd end up toppling over her dance partner and also not to rely on her to pick up all of her weight, but rather to use the shoulders to prop herself up for as long as possible. Only letting her partner fully handle her weight when she was about to back down.

"And dip." Sakura had been so taken aback the first time Serendine had attempted the dance move, she slipped and landed on her behind. Serendine's hand was at the back of Sakura's neck, as she leaned down with the girl before coming back up again.

They separated at a short distance to spin around, one of their arms held out and ready to take the other. When their hands connected again, they started stepping together again in the form that was dance, with the occasional spin above the arm. Then joining their free hands together, with Sakura's behind her back and Serendine's more distance hand while their arms raised against to make an arch. The dance was slow, but intimate and that was resembled through the way in which the dancers would link their hands together, through the openings made with their arched arms.

Nearing the end, Serendine lifted Sakura slightly beside her to give a slow spin and setting her down again. They drew back for a second before coming forward again, placing a hand on each other's faces and moving in a circle again. Pulling away and drawing forward, holding both of each other's hands. Serendine bent down slightly, to signal the end of the dance and Sakura gave a curtsey (something else she struggled with) before they moved back.

"Aw-you didn't stumble that time." Judar said in disappointment. He took his last bite out of a peach before throwing the pit back in the box.

Sakura covered her face, the smile stretching her skin to the limit. "I-I actually got it!"

"Yes; that was well done."

Sakura giggled, touching her warm cheeks. "I hope I get to dance with Sinbad like that."

Serendine gave a soft smile, her eyes glistening in happiness yet also pain. "Yes, I'm sure you will."

* * *

Some things Sakura enjoyed, like royal swordplay that Serendine had begun to teach her; it was different to the Kou's, but because Serendine was giving her so many lessons in the day, there wasn't much time to focus on it as Sakura might have wanted to. That brought another thought to Sakura's mind. Sharrkan was very skilled with a sword himself (as he demonstrated in the Dark Continent) and Sakura figured that while she was expanding her knowledge of politics, that she would expand her skills in arms as well. When she had asked the boy if he would be her swordsman instructor, he agreed with great delight. He was still a bit docile and hadn't been able to get on very well with the other children other than Masrur-who had heard from his 'mentor' that Sakura had asked him to train her in swordplay. Masrur then came in as well, saying he wanted to train with Sakura too, but in hand to hand combat, of course he would be the one learning.

" _Does she not have a limit?" asked Gaap_

" _Honestly, if she does we are all yet to see to her reach it." Stated Sitri._

" _Truly, I have wondered the same." Stolas said_

 _Beleth chuckled, "That is our king for you."_

Sakura thrust her wooden sword at Sharrkan, but the boy skillfully evaded her attack and countered just as quickly. His sword barely a sliver away from her neck; while Sakura was using a training sword, Sharrkan was using his real on, as it was adjusted to his height.

As Sharrkan drew back, he spoke. "You shouldn't lunge, it makes it easier for your opponent to topple your balance or slice your throat."

"Right." Sakura breathed, standing with a slight lean before attempting to attack Sharrkan again. Their swords clashed several times. Sakura found out quickly, that Sharrkan's style of swordplay was not only unique but it was also very powerful, enough to make a small timid boy, deadly. The movements were swift and unpredictable, so much so that it seemed very snake-like to Sakura.

Sharrkan seemed to greatly enjoy giving lessons to Sakura, he was always smiling when they sparred and Sakura was glad to have been able to do that. Sharrkan had found an opening while she was attacking again and his blade found its way near her heart-stopping before it touched her.

"It's better to keep your free arm pulled back to keep up a defense." Sharrkan said, moving next to Sakura. He drew back her free hand so that it was grazing her back and moved in front of her. "See; if you do that, then you hold a better defense against your neck and shoulders."

Sakura smiled, steadying herself. "Alright, let's go again."

Masrur, who had been watching quietly, cut in. "How much longer before I can start training with Sakura?"

Sharrkan glared at Masrur, "Hey, I'm still helping Sakura. We each get one hour, it's not time yet!"

"But mentor, it's not like Sakura's going to need to know how to use a sword when she's got her strength. So it's useless to her."

"Hey!"

Sakura snickered at the boy's antics, "Now come on, Sharrkan and I will have one more spar Masrur and then I'll get to training with you."

Sharrkan mumbled something under his breath, but became serious when he turned back to Sakura. Holding his sword. "Okay, since this is it for today let's give it our all!"

Sakura nodded, happy that Sharrkan was showing a brighter light to himself, more expressive and childlike.

"Right."

Sharrkan initiated the first strike, coming at Sakura with full speed. Sakura did her best to keep up with Sharrkan's attacks and block them, while it seemed to be working, he was so fast she couldn't counter and had to continue to back up. Sharrkan managed to hit her wrist which caused her to draw back.

"Keep your eyes on your opponent's hand, not their blade." Sharrkan said as he continued to drive Sakura back. Sakura watched carefully and started to counter, their swords clashing together. Sakura stepped carefully as Sharrkan continued his assault.

Their weapons continued to clash and then, Sharrkan side stepped when Sakura thrust forward. Sakura spun on her heal to strike, but Sharrkan bent back to avoid it. She then quickly turned back, her leg extending out and getting the boys leg, making him stumble to the ground. Sakura then quickly held the wooden sword near Sharrkan face.

Sakura breathed out, pulling back. "I finally got you."

Sharrkan panted softly, lying on his back. He was clearly tired, having been at training as long as they were and with the continuous vigorousness that would make any young boy tired. He might have been skilled at swordplay but Sakura outmatched him in stamina, which he was slowly building with his training sessions.

Sakura held up her hand and lifted Sharrkan from the ground. She looked back to Masrur and waved for me to come over for his turn. The Fanalis was already moving towards them.

When Sakura saw Sharrkan wince when he attempted to step, she turned back to him. "What's the matter?"

"My ankle."

Sakura sat Sharrkan back down and grabbed his leg to lift and inspect the damage. It seemed that somewhere along when they were training, he had sprained his ankle. It made sense now how she was able to bring him down. At least she knew that she couldn't have sprained it, because she had not been using chakra to enhance her strength or speed.

Placing her hand over his ankle, Sharrkan felt the pain begin to leave. A soothing cool sensation replacing it.

"You should have just said you hurt yourself." Sakura said seriously.

"But in a real battle, if you show you're weakened in anyway then your opponent can take advantage."

Sakura shook her head, "Well in future when you're training with me; tell me if you get hurt."

"But," Sharrkan looked down, blushing. His timid nature returning.

"What is it?" Sakura coaxed leaning down. "Don't be afraid to speak to me."

Sharrkan averted his eyes, "I was…having fun."

A wide grin spread across Sakura's face, she ruffled Sharrkan's hair. He looked at her with eyes wide in wonder.

"I am glad. Sensei Sharrkan."

Sharrkan turned completely red, evident despite his complexion. Sakura looked back around to Masrur who was standing patiently with his arms at his side. She gathered Sharrkan in her arms and set him on the side where he wouldn't get caught up while she and Masrur trained. Because there wasn't much space for training in the city, they went into the forest. Near where Sakura and Serendine had trained with Judar to master their djinn equips. The area was completely isolated and still, granting privacy and allowing them to go all out in training without worrying about causing any accidents.

"Okay Masrur, let's go." Sakura jabbed her right fist into her left palm, indicating that she was ready for another match.

* * *

Masrur was very powerful and taking into account his age, there was no doubt he was going to become even stronger; especially if he continued to train. Fanalis supposedly had a natural strength but Sakura wanted Masrur to nurture that strength and feed it through training. So that he wouldn't come to a moment in his life where he regretted he didn't. He wouldn't be able to place any loss on account of his own lax behavior or because he was weak. Having experience, Sakura knew that it was one of the worst feelings to have. From watching both Sharrkan and Masrur, Sakura had gotten insight, in just how valuable it was to start with anything as soon as possible. No matter how young you were.

Masrur's attacks were wild, reminding Sakura of some kind of animal-definitely a predator. With sharp instincts to attack. His usually dull eyes seemed to ignite with passion when he fought; the same as Sharrkan.

Stepping on the sole of his feet, Masrur lurched forward but Sakura ducked down, her hand shot up to catch Masrur's wrist and send a punch into his stomach that had him skidding across the forest grounds, creating a path of dirt from the grass that separated from the soil in which it had grown. She didn't put too much restrain in her attacks, but because she had unleashed her seal, she needed to keep control of how much power she used when attacking. She didn't need to accidently break anyone's bones-least not in matches that were only training.

Masrur didn't stay down for long though, he stood back up and barely paused before he started rushing towards her again. Holding up her arms in a defensive position, Sakura waited for Masrur to reach her. He jumped towards her, but Sakura moved to the side and knocked him down with one swipe of her hand, the ground broke when Masrur hit it. Sharrkan cringed from his sight as he watched the two continue their spar-no it was more like a brawl. To any stranger's eyes it would probably look like a death match between two equally determined opponents who wanted to take victory.

Sakura and Masrur continued to exchange hits; Sakura continued to counter all of his attacks, blocking and swatting him back. Masrur hadn't been trained in any particular fighting style. He had just been doing what came naturally to him. That was where Sakura bested him, not just in her strength that was currently more advanced, but she had real training and practice; (Although Masrur was unaware), from a blonde women with a bit of a drinking problem, who did not know the meaning of the word beginners or mercy.

"You need to try and predict what your opponent is going to next and counter." Sakura told Masrur as she continued to block his punches and kicks, which were coming at her none stop. "Pick up a pattern,"

Sakura grabbed Masrur's foot and lifted him into the air, he twisted his body around to kick her head with his free foot but Sakura let go just when he did that and punched him back again. "Like I've picked up yours."

Masrur wiped the side of his face where Sakura had struck him, his face motionless. He shot forward again, his punches and kicks going amiss from their target. What Sakura noticed then though, was that he was far more focused. She could tell he was taking her advice in attempting to coordinate himself better.

She kept on swatting away Masrur's attacks; she could feel that they were becoming more swift and sharper. Then Masrur finally managed to take her by surprise when he squatted down and looked like he was aiming to punch Sakura's face, but instead, ducked under in the last moment and wrapped his arms around her waist while Sakura had both of her arms up to defend her upper body. Masrur threw Sakura on the ground, hard on her back.

The pinkette let out a loud grunt as her back scraped against the earth, her head knocking back hard, coming back up and then coming down a second time, with a pain resulting from the first knock. Sakura took a deep breath as the wind was knocked out of her.

When she opened her eyes, she was met with ruby red ones as Masrur peered down at her. Sharrkan came over to them as well, looking down at Sakura worriedly, asking if she was alright.

Sakura shut her eyes tightly, a wide grin spread across her face before her mouth opened widely and she started laughing. Which in turn made the two boy's really worried.

"Good job Masrur, you managed to bring me down." Sakura breathed, calming down. She sat up, feeling the dirt stuck on her back due to the sweat that had provided a foundation for it.

"Are you hurt?" Masrur asked.

Seeing the genuine worry, Sakura patted Masrur's head affectionately and smiled. "Nothing that will kill me, but it definitely impressed me. I'm proud of you."

What Sharrkan and Sakura witnessed next was what would be called a 'once in a lifetime' sight, Masrur's face painted a delicate shade of red, far lighter than his hair but still visible against his skin. Sakura and Sharrkan titled their heads to the side and moved closer towards the young Fanalis boy.

"Masrur; are you blushing?"

"He is!" exclaimed Sharrkan, eyes wide as he started laughing.

Masrur looked down, attempting to hide his face while Sakura started poking his cheeks teasingly. She gave him a sideways hug, rubbing her cheek against Masrur's. The young Fanalis boy just grunted, unable to find the proper words of protest against Sakura's fawning. Kissing him on the cheek, Sakura felt that the young boy was sweating quite a bit and he wasn't the only one. She and Sharrkan were also caked in dirt from today's training session

"Well that's enough for one day." Sakura said to the two fatigued boys. Today's training had been especially intense with the new mile stones they had taken.

"Are we going back to the company?" Sharrkan asked.

Sakura grinned, "Not yet."

* * *

Sakura took the boys to a skyline silver lake, so clear the rays of sunlight that fell on the water looked like a large puddle of painted light, its soothingly still atmosphere radiated strongly and immediately seemed to bring the three to a tranquil bliss, like a spell. Taking a large gulp of air, Sakura began removing her open toed shoes.

"Um, Sakura why are we here?" Sharrkan asked, looking around.

"It's hot, we've got some time before we need to get back, we've sweat through our clothes-we're having a swim in the lake." Sakura stated as she started removing her top and shorts until she was only in her underwear. She heard spluttering behind her and assumed it was Sharrkan being bashful, since she had bathed with Masrur before, seeing her barely clad wasn't anything new to him. She jumped in on the shallow side, her knees brushing up against the soft sand. She looked back at Masrur and Sharrkan, who were just standing there near the water's edge.

"Come on in," Sakura waved. It didn't take long for Masrur to jump in (fully clothe), although he kept to the shallows, splashing some water over his face. Sharrkan looked nervously at the two.

"Um, I-I can't swim."

Sakura couldn't say she found it that surprising, even though Heliohapt's culture of dress was different and rather open, Sharrkan had grown up in a country that was mostly desert not to mention he had been very sheltered and probably limited access to the outside. Then Sakura realized that she wasn't entirely sure what kind of background Masrur had either and whether he had gotten the opportunity to learn how to swim.

"What about you Masrur, can you swim?"

With a brief shaking of his head, Masrur gave his answer. "No."

Exhaling softly, Sakura drew closer to where the boys were and held out her hand towards Sharrkan. "Come on in Sharrkan."

The young Heliohapt prince took a step back, "But-

"Trust me."

Sakura kept her hand out, until Sharrkan finally took it after nearly two minutes of contemplation. He was drawn into the lake, near Masrur as the water didn't draw further than their stomachs from that point. The water was cool on his heated skin, washing away the dirt and sweat collected from training.

"See, nothing to worry about." Sakura ran her hands through her now wet hair. Clapping her hands to get their attention, Sakura made an announcement. "And now, I am going to teach the two of you how to swim."

Both Masrur and Sharrkan stared at the pinkette questionably and Sakura could only laugh.

'This is going to be fun.'

Both Sharrkan and Masrur were hesitant about learning how to swim. Sakura had to give reassurance that she wouldn't allow anything to happen to them, as you couldn't exactly use super strength or swordplay to keep yourself from drowning-Sakura knew that all too well from her experience in Gaap's dungeon. Eventually; Sakura managed to convince them to take the chance and let her teach them. Sakura began by teaching them how to kick; first she demonstrated herself the proper way to kick by placing her hands on the edge of the ground by the lake and doing the kicks herself before having them follow her example. It turned out to be simple enough and the boys practiced for a few minutes, beginning to fall into comfort in the water.

Sakura then took Masrur and Sharrkan one by one further into the water; she pulled them by their arms to keep them afloat while they kicked to work on their movements. Masrur went first. Sakura held his hands and stepped back, telling him to start kicking. She told Masrur to start putting his face in the water and coming back up. She led him around in a circle near the shallow area where Sakura could walk. She was continuously reminding Masrur not to kick wildly or he would exhaust himself too soon.

Then she came around to Sharrkan, who appeared ready to jump out of the lake and speed off into the forest when they weren't looking. Sakura had to practically drag him and he was still shaken at the concept of swimming.

"Don't be afraid." Sakura said reassuringly, she could feel Sharrkan's grip tighten on her hands. "I won't let go I promise."

Sakura stared pulling him along the water, Sharrkan had no choice but to align himself along the water and start kicking, he began quick, showing the panic but settled soon as Sakura kept a steady pace. Holding his hands tight while she pulled him along. It was still a bit humorous to think that two children, who managed to subdue vicious slave traders were actually hesitant to learn how to swim.

When they were nearing the end of their session, Sharrkan accidently lowered his feet too much and slipped, stumbling forward and crashing into Sakura-who also stumbled a little before regaining her footing. She giggled, Sharrkan's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist in a vice grip.

"There see, nothing to worry about. I got you."

Sakura looked back to Masrur, extending her arm ad in turn to the wordless gesture, Masrur wordlessly accepted the pinkette's hand, allowing her to pull him on the deeper side of the river.

* * *

The rest of the day was taken with Sakura teaching Masrur and Sharrkan how to swim and the two boys began to eventually begin to enjoy themselves. It started off with simple splashes that turned into a heavy water fight and only when the clear waters began to turn a deep orange, did they realize just how late it was. Sakura was certain she would have a mountain of work at her desk for the day but she felt it was worth it after having spent time with Masrur and Sharrkan. The boys were still having some problems adjusting to the company. Unlike most of the other slave children, Masrur wasn't a fan of learning, in fact according to Rurumu and Ja'far, Masrur had a habit of running off during lessons. Although it seemed that Masrur was afraid of Ja'far (given the first impression the ex-assassin had made when he beat up Sinbad and hit Sakura in the coliseum), so he was taking care of most of the Masrur's tutoring. Sharrkan had the education of a prince so he didn't really need to sit in for Rurumu's lessons-however he had been struggling to make friends along with the other's. In a way the two were actually a good combination to vent off each other's loneliness.

'Because there's nothing worse than that is there Sasuke?' Sakura smiled bitterly as she carried Masrur and Sharrkan through the forest. Masrur was set on her back and Sharrkan in front in a reverse piggyback style. Both boys were tired after their long training session and swimming lessons, so Sakura opted to carry them both back to the company, seeing as they had lost track of time and Sakura still had work to get done once she got back.

Using chakra to enhance her speed, Sakura took off through the forest cutting the time to return by less than half. Sakura had started jumping through the trees, barely getting one foot on a branch before leaping to another, which had startled both boys at first when she felt Masrur tighten his grip on her from behind and Sharrkan cry out for her to stop.

"Relax." Sakura told them, laughing to herself.

* * *

When they came to the end of the forest, Sakura decided to take her time getting back since it looked like they were going to make it before the last light of day. She made her way through the streets of Balbadd, which were relatively quiet as everyone was getting ready to retire for the night. The sun was still emitting its last ray of heat, warming Sakura's semi-wet skin before a gentle breeze cooled it.

"Sakura…" Sharrkan slurred, semi-conscious.

"Mmm?"

"I liked training today, thank you."

"Me too." Masrur added, his voice softer than usual indicating his drowsiness. "Thank you."

Sakura smiled softly, feeling a swell of joy fill her along with pride. It was moments like these that she felt content with the decisions that have led her to be here. When she looked back, she didn't feel regret or wish she had done something differently.

"I'm glad."

* * *

Sinbad stared at the last document on his desk for the day; he then glanced to Sakura's desk where there was a large pile waiting for her when she returned. He sighed; this is how it had been; a non-stop cycle ever since they returned from Parthevia. He had thought things would settle after Sakura revealed to be training with Serendine to master their djinn equips, but shortly after that, her presence became scarcer. She would disappear with Serendine and then in the afternoons, she would go with Masrur and Sharrkan out into the forest to train. Adding with her workload and the other projects Sakura had taken up recently; Sinbad hardly caught a glimpse of her. They shared a room now but more often than not, one of them would be working throughout the night.

There was a knock on the door and Ja'far entered, carrying a tray with a jug of wine and a plate with Sinbad's dinner. "Sakura just came back, she's putting Masrur and Sharrkan in bed. She told me she'll have dinner quickly and then come back up to finish her work."

Sinbad groaned, leaning back against his chair. "Alright."

"What's the matter?" Ja'far asked, somewhat wary as he predicted it had something to do with all of the work Sinbad had to do. He mentally prepared a speech in his head about how this was the job description for being a leader of one of the most prominent trading companies in the world but he didn't get to use it.

"I've been thinking; about Sakura." Sinbad said grimly, linking his hands together. Ja'far placed the plate in front of Sinbad, minding the scrolls.

"What about Sakura?" Ja'far put the mug down as he asked this, taking the jug to pour Sinbad's drink.

"I don't like how things are working out."

It was as if Sinbad's words were a force able to knock someone back because Ja'far had stumbled harshly, accidently spilling the contents of wine onto the desk and some onto Sinbad's pants. Which caused the young man to leap from his seat in search of something to remove the…mistakable stain.

"Ja'far!"

The spill was the least of Ja'far's concerns at the moment. "What do you mean not working out? Are you planning on breaking up with her?! Sinbad you-

"Wait a minute, I didn't say anything about breaking up with her!" Sinbad exclaimed quickly noticing the suddenly deadly gleam in Ja'far's eyes. The boy may have been in alignment with Sinbad in many and nearly all cases; but it was obvious that when it came to matters concerning Sakura; Ja'far could sway. "I'm just noticing that with the way things are right now, we haven't been seeing a lot of each other."

Ja'far blew out a breath, realizing what Sinbad had meant. Though Sinbad and Sakura were nearly always in conflict, they were actually a match he preferred and greatly approved of. When he met them, Ja'far wasn't too sure Sakura and Sinbad were suited to be friends let alone lovers. Although when he looked closer, he found that they were the perfect contrast of night and day, different but functioned well together.

"I see; it's not like it can be helped." Ja'far pointed out, grabbing a piece of cloth to wipe down the table. "Masrur asked Sakura to train him and Sharrkan is training Sakura."

"Then there's the unusual amount of time she's been spending with Serendine." Sinbad added.

"She's the only girl at the company closest in age to Sakura, isn't it natural that she would want to spend time with her?"

Sinbad crossed his arms, his face appearing strained in thought. "I suppose so but you know, I realized something that day Mystras and Pipirika said they were dating."

Ja'far raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Sakura and I haven't gone out once since we got together." Sinbad said.

Ja'far thought back and realized that what Sinbad said wasn't false. A few years back, the two would spend a lot of time together outside of work; it actually kept Sinbad from his habits. Since Sakura came back, the company had really taken off so there wasn't a lot of down time for anyone really-especially for their young leader.

"Wait-why are you thinking about this now?" Ja'far asked.

"Maybe because I hardly get to see Sakura anymore with all these activities she's taken up around the company." Sinbad ran his hand over his face and walked towards the window. Looking out at the setting sun on Balbadd.

"She has a lot of responsibilities too Sinbad. She helps with the company, from behind a desk and with more hands on matters. She's even started trying to create new products with the herbs we've received from Heliohapt. Then there's all of the former slave children the two of you had brought back; they see her as a mother figure-one they can depend on and who tends and cares for them. Sharrkan and Masrur as well. Their adjustment to the company has been more gradual and they are really comfortable around her."

"I know that, but she's been so busy that she doesn't have time for me." Sinbad argued against Ja'far's rationality, although it was nothing solid.

"Sinbad, you sound like a neglected child." Ja'far deadpanned.

Sinbad looked over his shoulder quickly, glaring at Ja'far in a dramatic manner. "I can't help if I miss the person I love!"

Ja'far froze, his mouth hanging open. He blinked thrice and held up a shaking finger. "C-could you say that again?"

Sinbad was baffled by Ja'far's shocked expression and answered truthfully, a little less vigorous. "I can't help if I miss the person I love."

"Did you really just say love?" Ja'far asked.

Sinbad draw his head back, realizing that was the cause of Ja'far's reaction. "Yes; what's so strange about that?"

Ja'far shook his head quickly, coming out of his fazed condition. "It's-it's just that-well given your history, I didn't think that 'love' in the context you just used it was possible."

"Hey, just how bad do you think I am!? Besides history is in the past." Sinbad stated. "And I do love Sakura; I miss her too but she doesn't seem to feel the same on that."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ja'far closed his eyes in thought. Moments later, he looked back up at his leader, who was now attempting to dry his wine stained pants by shaking the fabric. "Alright." Ja'far waited for Sinbad to look back at him before speaking again.

"I have an idea."

 **That's all for now, but don't worry. The next chapter will be coming up very soon so keep a look out because you might not be waiting as long as you think.**

 **In the meantime please leave a review!**


	37. First Date

**Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter. I know that it hasn't been that long since I updated for this story but I just finished this and I wanted to get it online as soon as possible. This is a bit of a rush but I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Sakura has not ever been the best morning person, but she hasn't allowed that to tarnish her punctuality in any manner. Be it for a mission, training, or an outing with a friend or now in her case, a three day's long list of work that needed to be done for the day. However she did not take well to those who attempted to disrupt her routine. That was exactly what Pipirika and Serendine had done when they barged into the room, shocking Sakura awake.

"Good morning!" Pipirika called, with an overly happy smile. She was carrying a tray in her hands. "We brought you breakfast."

Sakura sat up rubbing her eyes before glaring at the two women as they walked into her room in an irritatingly casual manner. Sinbad wasn't there when she had been so abruptly awakened, so he must have gotten up earlier-not that she would know if he had come to bed that night since she made it back to the room before he did.

Pipirika set the tray in Sakura's lap and moved back. "You should hurry up or you're going to be late."

Sakura took a few slow breaths, she looked at Serendine and Pipirika who were standing at the foot of her bed with eager and somewhat impatient expressions.

"Did I oversleep?" Sakura asked first, as calmly as possible.

"No. It's still early." Serendine replied, hands behind her back.

Sakura felt her brow twitch, "Then would you two please explain to me what the hell is happening?"

"You'll get answers soon enough-first eat." Pipirika pointed to the tray.

Sakura gave the girl's one last deadpan expression before practically inhaling her food. Pipirika and Serendine simply watched, unaffected by Sakura's manners-or lack of them. When she wiped her mouth, they immediately removed the tray and pulled the pinkette out from under the sheets.

"Now will someone please explain to me-

"You need to get dressed." Serendine said, pushing Sakura further through the room. Stopping to stand near the middle, Serendine's hand's reached out towards Sakura's attire before abruptly pulling back, her hands trembling slightly.

"Pipirika, can you help Sakura dress?" Serendine said, side stepping the other pinkette to get to the Imuchakk.

"Sure."

"I can dress myself just fine, thank you." Sakura said holding up her hands as Pipirika came towards her.

Pipirika shook her head, holding up a piece of fabric that Serendine had brought into the room and placed on the bed, since Pipirika had her hands full with Sakura's breakfast. "Oh you can't wear your usual attire for today."

"Why?" Sakura let out exasperated.

"It's not appropriate." Serendine stated, not offering any more information. Sakura was about to open her mouth when Serendine held up her hand. "Don't ask any questions for now, just go with it."

"But-

Taking Sakura's hand in her own, Serendine gave it a reassuring squeeze and looked into the girl's emerald green eyes, smiling gently. "Please Sakura."

Sakura puffed out her cheeks; she didn't think Serendine had realize how cute she could be or how hard it was for Sakura to refuse her now.

* * *

A few minutes later, Sakura had endured what she would describe as the ultimate form of torture, having practically been treated like a child by the two women who had cleaned her, dressed her and then accessorized her like she was some doll. Throughout that entire experience, in respect for Serendine's request, Sakura hadn't pushed the girl's into telling her why they were doing all of this. However, the instant they put her in front of a mirror, Sakura had lost what little patience she had left.

"What is this!?"

Pipirika and Serendine had put Sakura in a top, red and white with long sleeves and gold embroidery, with a wide neckline cutting down and ending just above her breasts and a long cream skirt with cherry blossom braches and petals scattered across tied above her stomach with a thin sash. Her hair had been soothed and tamed, hiding most of its unevenness and given a red flower headpiece. Her face had been powdered lightly, the bottom of her eyes lined with black which made them stand out even more, her eyelashes also brushed darker, appearing fuller and her lips were painted red.

There wasn't any magical transformation in what Sakura saw. She hadn't gone from a wallflower to vixen due to a change of clothes and some makeup, it was just her-her in a dress. However, looking in the mirror was an experience similar to stepping into a foreign country for the first time. Just as you would have no idea how to properly conduct yourself and adapt to the country's cultures and rules, was Sakura lost on how to function and conduct herself in this new fabrication. A djinn equip indicated battle, her ninja outfit indicated work in her everyday life but this dress and everything that went with it…left Sakura completely baffled. The last time she had put on a dress was when she had gone out with Sinbad; but there wasn't the additions of accessories and such to create a complete picture.

"You look amazing!" exclaimed Pipirika clapping her hands.

"You really do," Serendine said, smiling softly.

Apparently both girls had ignored Sakura's outburst on the matter, although Sakura wasn't going to let the subject go.

"Can one of your please explain this insanity?"

Before Serendine or Pipirika were able to explain anything to the pinkette, Ja'far entered the room. "Is she ready?"

"Yes." Pipirika grinned.

"She is." Serendine confirmed gesturing to Sakura.

"You look amazing" Ja'far said, with eyes slightly widened.

"Thanks…." Sakura said, unable to really take in the compliment as her mind was full with just one question.

Sakura looked back and for the between Ja'far, Pipirika and Serendine as they spoke in mutters. "Alright, someone better tell me what's going on right-

Ja'far came up to Sakura and began pulling her out of the room, "Just wait until we're outside, Sinbad's waiting for you. He'll explain"

"Sinbad's waiting for what-

"I told you he'll explain."

* * *

Sakura had already mentally prepared a five minute lecture in the two minutes it took to get to the entrance of the company. She saw Sinbad at the gate, but something seemed off about him. For one, he wasn't dressed in his work attire. He wore white pants similar to the ones he usually wore tucked in his boot, he also had on a sleeveless black top that was tight and complimented his physique. He wasn't wearing any of his throw overs and accessories. Yet somehow less seemed to be doing more for Sinbad.

"Well, I'll leave you to it." Ja'far walked back to the building. Sakura and Sinbad were now left to scrutinize one another. Sinbad was staring at her with eyes that lingered from time to time before wandering again, it gave Sakura a sense of self—consciousness that had been warding off since she came to this world. Of course he wasn't the only one who was appreciating his partner's aesthetics.

Sakura was so awestruck she nearly lost her train of thought, then it came back to her. "Sinbad, what's going on?"

Rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous smile. Sinbad was about ready to make a run for it, but when he looked at the genuine curiosity on Sakura's face he felt rooted to the spot.

"Well, I was complaining to Ja'far how we weren't able to spend a lot of time together about a week ago-

"Complaining?" Sakura tilted her head.

Sinbad held up his hand, refracting his response. "Um-no-no, not complaining-I mean I just noticed-we-we've been kinda distant and-

Sakura covered Sinbad's mouth in a similar manner she had with Mystras when he babbled-a trick that was typically reserved only for Mystras. "Sinbad take a breath."

Seeing his chest raise, Sakura removed her hand. "Alright now let out that breath and tell me in the shortest way possible what is going on."

Exhaling, Sinbad looked at Sakura, his voice steady but his eyes still holding nervousness. "Sakura; would you like to go on a date with me?"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"No thanks."

Sakura watched Sinbad's face turn completely red, shock crossing his expression in a way that she hasn't seen before and then it fell to a saddened disappointment, his head hung low and shoulders slumped forward. "Oh, I see….sorry."

Bursting into a fit of giggles, Sinbad looked up at the source, seeing Sakura with her lips tightly pursed lips but still the sounds escaped them. When she opened her eyes, there were tiny tears in the corner of her eyes. Sakura waved her hand in a continuous motion. "I was kidding Sinbad."

Sinbad went jaw slackened, his posture straightening. "Why-

"Because," Sakura wiped away the tears from her eyes. "I wanted to see your reaction."

Grumbling, Sakura fell forward again in relief, his shoulders slackened and sigh escaped his mouth. "You know, you're a real sadist sometimes."

"Well it's not every day the womanizer of the seven seas gets nervous asking his girlfriend out on a date. It's adorable."

"Well it's not like I've been on a date before!" Sinbad exclaimed, still red faced.

In turn to this new piece of information, Sakura became jaw slackened before she broke out into another fit of laughter. Sinbad quickly begged her to stop as it was just pouring salt on the wound for him.

"Seriously you've never been a on a date!?" Sakura laughed; it seemed that Sinbad was only partial to the entertainment industry and nothing further in pursuing relationships.

"Yeah well, have you ever been a date?" Sinbad countered.

Sticking out her tongue and holding up two finger, she answered. "Sure I have."

It felt as if a large rock had fallen on top of him and crushed his ego. Sinbad may have been more experienced than Sakura in the intimate aspects of relations but he was oblivious to the traditional courtship practices-as in he hasn't practiced them himself. Travelling almost all the time didn't leave much room for such liberties. It seemed that Sakura's case was different.

'Was it Sasuke?' He wondered unsurely. Sakura had admitted to being in love with him but according to her Sasuke did not return her feelings, so it couldn't have been….right?

"Of course those 'dates' were with my friend Naruto.

"Oh." Sinbad perked back up, grinning. "You got me jealous for a moment there."

Snickering, Sakura took Sinbad's hand.

"Well then; shall we go?" Sakura's grin stretched and Sinbad couldn't do anything but return it.

"Yes."

* * *

There had been a lot of things Sakura put behind her after Sasuke had left; romantic expectations were one of them. She had placed the idea so far into the back of her mind, she lost it. Now Sinbad was attempting to show it to her again, reinventing the concept. Slowly, but she was beginning to believe in the ideology once again, only in a more realistic point of view. Her childish ambitions were beginning to burn away slowly. Making everything more meaningful, more permanent and more real.

Sinbad and Ja'far along with everyone else had been conspiring for the couple's first date. She recollected the odd behavior of her friends during the week, like seeing them gathered and whispering together, only to scatter whenever they saw her coming their way. Even Sinbad had been behaving aloof whenever Sakura saw him but she had brushed it off or hadn't had the time to notice with her work. Though she should have figured something was up when Pipirika came into her office and asked her dress size while handing in the reports. Sinbad didn't explain to Sakura what brought out this sudden desire for them to partake in their first date and Sakura didn't bother to ask. It was something that had also weighed on her mind and had actually heavily depressed her.

"Are you going to tell me now?" Sakura prodded Sinbad for the third time.

"Not yet." Sinbad replied, grasping Sakura's hand that had been prodding him and pulled her along.

A crowd was forming further in the direction that Sinbad was leading Sakura; she had tried asking him a few times what he had planned for today but he said it was a surprise. Sakura wasn't exactly the kind of person who enjoyed surprises anymore, not after one unexpected turn of events had her meeting the Kou's royal family and the other time when she ended up getting transferred into another world.

It was a wonder to Sakura why Sinbad would go so out of his way for something like this. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it but with all the work they had to do and with passing a certain boundary already. Which was also why she found it funny when Sinbad behaved so bashfully over something like this.

When she saw a large tent set up in one of the town squares and people lining up at a toll booth next to it, buying tickets for something. Sakura gave Sinbad a questionable look and he finally decided to give her an answer.

"We're going to see a play." Sinbad pointed. "This is their last day in Balbadd."

Nodding, Sakura and Sinbad walked towards the ticket booth, a small overly colored box, where a man in an overly enthusiastic voice was beckoning people to come and buy a ticket. Sakura and Sinbad stood in line, side by side. Sakura noticed that there seemed to be a lot of people coming in pair's-couples.

"Sinbad, what exactly is this play about?" she asked.

"It's supposed to be some tragic romance." Sinbad told her. "What do you think?"

Sakura chuckled, taking hold of Sinbad's arm. "I think it will be interesting to be the one seeing a play for once instead of being in it."

The inside of the tent was wide, there were seats set in front of a built platform working as the stage, most of it hidden behind red curtains. Sakura and Sinbad took their seats right in front of the stage as the rest of the crowd poured in.

"It's getting pretty full." Sakura said looking around.

"The play's kinda new, so everyone's probably curious."

The stage was lit with torches and most of them around the tent were suddenly turned out, leaving the audience to focus only on the stage in front of them now. There was music coming from behind the stage, a flute blew a peaceful tune. A man came out, wearing a white thick robe, he held out his arms as he addressed the audience.

"Welcome everyone, to the performance of a lifetime. Where love and tragedy intertwine. This is the story of a princess, a huntsman and a beast."

There curtains on stage began to pull apart from one another, revealing the stage and its setting. There were easily removable props of thin, light material grey walls, pillars painted with gold and two chairs decorated similar to thrones. Where two figures sat, a man, a women and around them were three younger girls, ranging in teens. They were all dressed in fine costumes with bright and shiny trinkets dangling from their clothing. They all wore white masks, painted to resemble blank human faces, lips and cheeks red.

The man in the white robe started narrating to the audience. _"Across the vast seas, deep within the heart of an island, there was a glorious kingdom. This kingdom was ruled by a king and his queen. Their days were filled with laughter and happiness. There only concern, was of who their three daughters would wed."_

The characters playing the king and queen stood up from the throne, the girls who were playing the princesses and daughters had linked their hands and were spinning in a circle, appearing to be happily playing.

" _When the parents held their first engagement meeting for the daughters. The eldest daughter, who was very beautiful had caught the attention of many of suitors."_

Several men wearing deep blue cloaks and masks came onto stage, surrounding one of the girl's. Taking her hand and they started to act out, flattering what would be the eldest daughter.

" _Thus the eldest daughter had been proposed to on the first meeting and was soon married off to the wealthiest king's. She left her family to live with her husband in his kingdom."_

The princess started walking off with one of the male actors, leaving the stage hand in hand. The king and queen waved off at them, bidding their farewells.

" _With two daughters remaining, the king and queen did not wait too long to host another engagement meeting. The middle daughter, was an intelligent princess who captured suitor's attentions with her intellect and wisdom that would lead a kingdom on a prosperous path. She too was wed and left her kingdom to rule and advise another."_

Thus the second princess made her exit from the stage, leaving the king, queen and third daughter along with the remaining 'suitors'.

" _Now the third princess, was as beautiful as the eldest and just as clever as the middle daughter but she was wilder, far more free spirited than either of her sisters. Thus the king and queen struggled to find a potential husband."_

The remaining princess was running around the stage now, the suitors chasing after her while the king and queen stood in the middle of the stage, shaking their heads and showing signs of distress.

" _The princess did not want to marry and to avoid the fate her mother and father were trying to set for her, she made an excuse every day to remain absent in the engagement meetings. One day, when the king and queen refused to accept any more of the princess's excuses, the princess decided to run into the woods where no one would find her."_

The actors started running around the stage, after the young princess, the curtains began to close and there was a quicker shuffle and scurrying heard amongst the stage. Quick flashes of shadows below the curtain could barely be seen.

The princess appeared on stage again, walking slowly on stage.

" _The young princess went deep into the woods, further than she ever had before. Into the darkest neck; on the furthest side of the kingdom. The princess walked for many hours, until she came to a bridge; leading into complete darkness that was the end of her family's kingdom and into another. She knew she was not to cross, but when the princess was about to turn around, she saw something on the other side of the bridge. It was a beast."_

On stage then came a person wrapped in a black robe with gold piping and wearing a mask like an animal skull with horns and wide black sockets, void of anything.

 _The beast looked at the princess and spoke, "I am being sought by a fierce hunter. I besiege you, do not inform him of my whereabouts."_

 _The beat then took to hide in some nearby furrows, as a man appeared on the other side, carrying a readied bow and arrow. The huntsmen._

 _He looked towards the princess, "It is not safe maiden; a beast dwells nearby. Have you seen him? He is a vicious create that seeks to destroy the kingdom."_

 _The princess thought; should she tell the huntsman of the beast location or risk the safety of her kingdom as the huntsman had claimed?_

" _No huntsmen, I have not seen such a creature." She claimed._

 _The man crossed the bridge, coming towards the princess and for a moment she believed that he had realized her words were false, instead he took her hand._

" _It is not safe young maiden, allow me to escort you back to your home."_

 _The princess did not want to return to the palace, nor remain in fear of surrendering the beast's location that was not too far._

" _Kind huntsmen, I do wish to learn more about you. Will you not walk with me along the river back?"_

 _Taken by the princesses' beauty the huntsmen could not refuse the offer, oblivious to the princess's identity as well as the beast she was leading him away from._

 _The princess spent the entire day with the huntsmen, speaking of everything that could come to mind to keep one another occupied, they played games and wandered through the forest for hours. At the end of the day, the huntsmen had fallen in love with the princess. The princess's mind was still on the injured beast on the other side of the bridge, when the sun started to set, she made an excuse to leave the huntsmen for the day, saying that it was time for her to return home._

" _Can I see you again maiden?"_

" _You may tomorrow, let us meet at the bridge."_

 _After the huntsmen left, the princess returned to the bridge. The beast had not left his hiding place. The princess stepped over the bridge and approached the beast._

" _The huntsmen is gone. No harm shall come to you."_

 _The princess dressed the beast's wounds, covering them in herbs and sap from the forest grounds._

" _I thank you for your help maiden. As a reward, I shall grant you one request. If it is within my power, it shall be yours."_

 _The princess had not forgotten about the hunter's warning of the beast ill intentions towards the kingdom; however she wanted to confirm for herself if what the hunter said was true and as neither knew her true identity, she chose to take this chance to discover the truth for herself._

" _I wish for your time then beast." The princess declared. "Give me your company."_

" _If that is your wish it is yours, however I cannot follow after you over the bridge. I can only do so if I cross with someone of royal blood from the kingdom on the other side."_

 _The princess still kept her identity hidden, unwilling to put her kingdom at risk if in case the beast did mean harm._

 _Just like with the huntsmen, the princess spent most of the night in the company of the beast. Speaking for hours in what they believed and hoped would keep the other's attention, the princess found that the beast knew many things about the part of the forest that did not belong to the kingdom and that the beast in fact ruled it. When the princess asked why the huntsmen was chasing after the beast, he replied._

" _The huntsmen is a greedy man, who desires my head in hopes of making himself known throughout the other kingdom and win favor with the king. He wishes to marry the remaining princess and make himself king."_

 _The princess found it strange, that both the beast and the huntsmen had made these claims about the other. She had left that night even more confused than before, but was still determined to figure out which was the truth._

" _I shall return tomorrow evening on this side of the bridge." The princess told the beast when she felt herself growing tired._

" _I will be here." The beast promised._

"So it's a love triangle." Sakura whispered to Sinbad.

"It would appear so." He replied just as quietly, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned back in his seat. He glanced around at the rest of the audience, already it seemed that they were beginning to get very comfortable, the couples in particular. There were women seated on their partner's laps, holding them closer while they watched the play, others were at least wrapped in one another's arms. He then turned towards Sakura, whose eyes were still fixated on the play. She didn't usually react well at his attempted public displays of affection. In fact her initial response was to painfully reprimand him.

Making up his mind, Sinbad placed his hand on top of Sakura's that was resting over the armrest of her chair. To his surprise and delight, Sakura didn't give any violent reaction nor turn to him in question as she continued to watch the play.

 _The princess continued to avoid her marriage meetings in the palace by sneaking into the woods to meet with the huntsmen in the day and the best in the evening. Both had fallen completely in love with the princess. However they were still unaware of her true identity and he princess still aimed to find the truth about them, although her affection for the huntsmen and the beast had grown and she was seeing them in a fond light. Becoming trusting of the both and finding herself wishing for the two to set aside their differences and quarrel, so that she would no longer have to continue deceiving and moving back and forth between the two._

 _While walking through the forest with the huntsmen the princess asked, "Huntsmen, what is the reason that you were hunting the beast?"_

 _The huntsmen, having fallen so deeply in love with the princess was compelled to admit the truth. "I have done so in hopes of winning the favor of the king and marrying the remaining princess. However, that is no longer what I desire."_

" _Then, you shall no longer hunt the beast?"_

" _I shall not. I no longer want the king's favor or princess's hand. What I desire, is to spend my time with you and to know your name."_

 _The princess thought for a moment; she wanted nothing more than to end the charade that had gone on between her, the huntsmen and the beast. She wished for them to meet and become acquainted without strife and see each other as she had seen them._

" _Huntsmen, if that is what you want then meet me tomorrow at sunset at the bridge. There I shall reveal to you my identity."_

 _After the huntsmen left that day, the princess went to meet with the beast at their usual spot on the other side of the bridge. After some time of wandering through the deepest parts of the forest, the princess chose to ask the beast._

" _Beast, why is it that you cannot cross the bridge to the kingdom's side?"_

" _It is a curse. The first ruler to build his kingdom in this land had driven all of my kind to the far end of it and had us hunted for glory and sport. The bridge had been enchanted to keep us on this side of the land, giving us nowhere to hide from persecution. I am the last of my kind. I therefore have despised the rulers of the kingdom and desired nothing else but the destruction and fall of the royal family. However, that desire has become fleeting after meeting you maiden."_

" _Why is that beast?"_

" _For I now desire nothing else but to remain at your side and for you to no longer be a stranger, by giving your identity."_

 _The princess smiled. "If that is what you desire beast, meet me at the bridge tomorrow at sunset and I shall tell you who I am."_

 _The princess now knew all that she needed and her plan was set. She would wait for the beast and the huntsmen on the bridge and tell them both the truth of her identity. She would be there early to remain between them so that they would not needlessly begin attacking one another. She would tell them of how they had both been swayed from their previous desires and therefore no longer had any reason to be foes._

 _However, the king and queen were becoming concerned with the princesses continued absence in the palace, avoiding any potential suitors. So that evening, the king and queen awaited their daughters return to confront her. The king demanded to know where the princess had gone every day and night but the princess refused to say, only that she would continue to do as she was to avoid her marriage meetings. Outraged, the king confined the princess to her room and ordered for the door to remain locked, for meals to be brought to her and that she was no longer allowed to wander through the palace without escort and she was to attend her marriage meeting._

 _The princess feared for the beast and huntsmen and what may become of them if she was not there to explain the situation to them. The princess's best decision was to start the marriage meeting as early as possible in order to finish ahead of schedule so that she could escape the palace as this would grant her the only opportunity to escape to the forest. The following day, she was dressed and prepared for her meetings. She fluttered around her potential suitors, vague to all their attempts at conversations as none held a candle in comparison to the discussions she had with the beast or huntsmen._

 _The princess finally found the perfect chance to escape when the king had called for the suitor's attention in thanking them for their time. When no one was watching, the princess slipped out of the room and out of the palace. The sun had nearly completely set and the princess did not take a moment's pause to recover as she rushed through the forest to get to the bridge._

 _When the princess arrived, she found the huntsmen and beast on the other side fighting furiously with one another. As they clashed, their words of anger reached her ears, carried through the darkness that masked her._

" _What have you done with the maiden beast?!"_

" _That is for you to answer huntsmen, the maiden was meant to meet me!"_

" _Do not spout such farce; it is I who she was meant to be meeting with at this bridge!"_

" _You have done something to her!"_

" _No it was you!"_

 _With the princess gone and the beast and huntsmen standing in her place for each other's meeting, a misunderstanding had been created as well as theories of profound conspiracy fueled by former wounds and rage that the beast and huntsmen held for each other._

 _The princess rushed onto the bridge, standing in the center, she cried out. The beast and huntsmen realized the princess's presence and separated, pausing their battle to focus their attention._

" _Please cease the both of you! There is no reason for this melee!"_

 _The princess then began explaining to the beast and huntsmen what had happened, about the times that she would go to visit them both without the other's knowledge and what she had discovered through these meetings._

" _There is no longer any reason for you to fight, let the past be just that and we can move forward together and I shall reveal my identity at last. That is what you both wish for is it not?"_

 _The beast spoke, "If what you say is true, then what we wish for cannot be obtained while the other remains."_

" _The beast speaks the truth, what we desire now cannot be shared, nor obtained by either while the other continues to live." Said the huntsmen._

 _The princess was confused, "What does this mean?"_

" _It means that we both desire you, in a manner that exceeds friendship and therefore would not be honorable to share." Stated the beast, reeling back his powerful claws. "Only one shall be able to have you."_

" _And for that, we shall hereby fight for you."_

 _The beast and huntsmen resumed their battle, the princess cried out as the two raced towards one another, ready to collide in what would be the finishing and defining attack. As she realized what the beast and huntsmen were insinuating, the princess leapt forward, releasing a desperate cry. Only now did she; the extent in which the two have fallen in love with her and the way in which she had been mistaken to base her plan on the ideals that they were not._

" _Please stop!"_

A twisted churning began to form in the pit of Sakura's stomach as she watched the play, beginning to bring about images of a horrific nostalgia. The broken pieces of white glass scattered with neatly cut pieces of peeled apple lying on a tiled floor, the dark suffocating tension in a bright hospital room, a twelve year old Naruto and Sasuke starring each other down ignoring the cries and pleas of their female teammate.

 _ **Then she saw white, white sheets fluttering in the wind as they hung up to dry, orange and blue blurs moving across in an uncoordinated manner, Sasuke and Naruto having their first real fight right before her eyes, on a hospital roof where the two boys focused on nothing but defeating the other, driven to be blind and deaf to everything and everyone else around them. Narrowing in their focus on one target, one concern. Their attacks became fiercer, more lethal, promising to win, promising to kill.**_

 _ **Sakura became filled with dread when she saw Sasuke coming down in the air towards Naruto, with his chidori ready to unleash, the sound of lightning that was literally at his fingertips definitely earned its name, one thousand birds. Then there was Naruto, using a shadow clone to cast up a small ball of chakra energy, like hundreds of threads spinning together.**_

" _ **Please stop this…"**_

 _ **They did not heed her cries, begging for them to stop as they continued to charge towards one another. Finally, taking a leap of faith off what would be a cliff of darkness, with no promise of ever seeing the light again; Sakura rushed forward-**_

"Sakura?" Sinbad called the pinkette for the third time, her eyes had been fixated on the play but it was as if her mind had taken her somewhere else. On stage, the princess had been caught in the crossfire of the beast and huntsmen's attacks, she was lying on the floor-it looked like the play was about to reach its climax.

The enclosed space of the tent felt like it was beginning to wrap around her, enveloping everyone and taking hold of her, squeezing the air out of her lungs, making her body feel as if it had been turned to lead. Sakura abruptly stood up from her seat and ran out. Sinbad turned back to call her softly but she ignored him, throwing open one of the flaps of the tent to escape.

* * *

Sakura raced through the city, her footsteps beating against the ground creating small trails of dust with her speed, until finally she came to a more remote part of the city. She turned into a space between two old buildings and leaned against the walls, panting softly. Although she hadn't run that far or fast, she felt out of breath. After drawing in a deep breath, Sakura slumped to the ground, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. It dawned on her that she had just run out of there and created a scene of her own offstage, not to mention she had left Sinbad there on his own.

'Why does this keep happening?'

No matter how much she wanted to move forward on this new path with Sinbad, there were always these bumps in the road and obstacles of her past that continued to appear. Sometimes they were easy to jump over and other times, they made her stop and think, which was a dangerous thing. Because thinking lead to feeling and feeling lead to moving backwards. Leading her back to a path that she could not change no matter how much she wanted to.

'It's not fair,' Sakura thought, her shoulder's wracking in distress. It wasn't fair that she was always pulled back like this, before she believed she deserved it but there was nothing she could do about it now. Bad things happened, she accepted that but her heart and mind would always be on war as to what to do about them. That memory was like a scar, it had healed but would always show its results and infliction. It was one of many that Sakura had and tried to hide from Sinbad and everyone in this world, but she couldn't always pull it off. What's worse, it made her a complete hypocrite.

She felt a shadow cast over her, she didn't need to look up to know that it was Sinbad who had found her-he always found her.

Sinbad sat down beside her, his arm falling over her shoulders in a warm embrace. The silence that always seemed to envelope them in moments like these was almost suffocating and Sinbad had to break it.

"Sakura."

"I'm sorry about that." Sakura apologized. "I didn't mean to run out of there like that."

Turning Sakura so that she was facing him, Sinbad spoke. "What happened back there? Why did you run out like that?"

Sakura lowered her eyes; she didn't think it was fair on Sinbad to burden him with the scars of her past. It was still a difficult transition to move on from the past when there was still so much unfinished business left there and that play had just reminded her of what been the starting point of it all. This was not something she thought to be worth sharing with Sinbad when there was nothing he could do about it. What's more, she was still haunted by the shadows of her past while trying to walk in the light with him. It wasn't right to trouble him, not after she had told him so much about her past pains and not when he had accepted them and her. He was the first person to accept and love her, even though he knew she also loved another. She believed she at least owed him her smile in thanks for this. There was no need to burden him with these heavy thoughts.

So that's what she did; she looked at him and smiled. "I'm alright Sinbad, let's continue with our date."

Sinbad was far from convinced, he had known Sakura long enough to tell when she was putting on a brave face-and that was more often than not. She had endured more than anyone could understand and she was strong because despite her past, she could get up every day and do what needed to be done. She seemed so self-assured that a stranger would never be able to tell the kind of things that she must have endured-Sinbad was not a stranger. He could tell from the beginning when he met her, that Sakura was fighting something, that she was suffering and that she was struggling but still she went on. Because that was the kind of girl she was.

Sinbad sighed, "If you don't want to tell me what's bothering you now, you don't have to."

"There's nothing bothering-

He cut her off with just a simple look, his eyes mirroring complete hurt and sadness that left Sakura speechless. "Sakura please don't lie to me; I know that the truth isn't always sweet but I'd like to think you believe I'm worth the truth."

Still struck in state of silence and unable to find a solution to exit the situation and return back to their previous, more pleasant one, Sinbad seemed to notice this and chose to lead them out instead. Sinbad stood up then, holding out his hand towards Sakura. "I don't care how long I have to wait for you to tell me everything; because we'll have plenty of time. Right?"

When Sinbad smiled at her; it was as if his radiance was seeping into the cracks of her broken soul and destroying the hurt within her, until finally it was enough for her to move again. She took Sinbad's hand, smiling back at him but not quite with the same gleam.

"Right."

* * *

Their next stop for their date was a clearing in Balbadd near the sea, where a group of musicians often played. Inviting couples to dance in the large open space. This suggestion for the date had come from Serendine. Sinbad was a little taken aback by Serendine's suggestion as he didn't think Sakura was the type for dancing, but upon the Parthevia princesses insistence he agreed to it. Although when they got to their destination, they found that the area was very empty, no one dancing and no musicians around either.

"Oh come on." Sinbad muttered looking around, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. Not knowing the cause for Sinbad's distress as she didn't know what the plans were for this date.

"We were supposed to go dancing here, but the musicians aren't here like they usually are."

Sakura's eyes widened, she distinctly remembered mentioning to Serendine and only to her that she wanted to go dancing with Sinbad at some point.

Sinbad was scratching his head and cursing under his breath. Putting her hand on his shoulder, Sakura coaxed Sinbad to calm down and that it wasn't a problem if they couldn't go dancing today. It wasn't like this was going to be their only date after all.

"But I really wanted to do this right," Sinbad retorted.

"Why Sinbad?" Sakura asked carefully.

With a soft sigh, Sinbad took Sakura's hands in his own. "I wanted to make sure that everything today goes perfectly. We've been together for a while now and we've even taken that step after skipping through all of the other things you usually do before."

"It's not like I mind."

"But I do," Sinbad said, holding Sakura's hands tighter. "You're always putting my situation into consideration and never complaining about it. You're working twice as hard, than ever before"

Sakura continued to smile, "It's fine Sinbad; the cause for all of this is reason enough for me. I don't care if we don't go on dates or if we're skipping steps. We're together, that's all that matters to me."

There were times Sinbad actually forgot, just how much Sakura was willing to do for his sake. Even put off things like going out, so that they could work towards his goals. Yet, Sinbad didn't know. He knew nothing of what Sakura wanted, what she truly wanted. The goals she had for herself. All he ever heard her talk about was her devotion for him, what she wanted to do to help him. Just like he didn't know what had caused her to run out of that tent during the play.

'Does she ever think of herself?' He wondered, starring into her deep emerald eyes. He remembered a few years ago, looking back into those same eyes and seeing them saddened with longing for something; now they were always so sharp and determined. What had she done with that longing? Sakura always talked about going home someday but claimed she no longer could. There was still so much for him to unravel that was Sakura, but he would, slowly. Like he said, they had time.

Sinbad and Sakura turned their heads from each other when they heard someone cough. There was an elderly man, with a strap on bag stuffed with paints and brushes and under one arm, a stand.

"Hello there,"

"Hello, um we heard that there were supposed to be musicians here, do you know if we're in the right place?" asked Sinbad.

"Oh, they circulate around Balbadd and only remain for a certain amount of time; I'm afraid you just missed them." The man said, glancing between the two. "Plans for some dancing right?"

Sinbad nodded, sighing softly. "Yes, but we were too late."

Sakura gave a humorless chuckle and rubbed Sinbad's arm. "It's okay, we'll get another chance."

The artist then spoke up. "Would you two youngsters be interested in having your portrait painted?" he asked. "Every couple should have one."

Sinbad and Sakura glanced at each other for confirmation; they were already here now and since Sinbad knew they still had some time, it could help to make up for missing their chance to dance. "Sure."

The artist directed the two to some crates, he asked them a few questions about their portrait, if they wanted any specific background and whether they wanted it in color or not. They said in color, but to leave out the background as that would take more time. The man told them to sit down on the crates, next to each other. The painter said he really wanted to capture the love between the two.

"Alright now young man, wrap one arm around her shoulder and then both of you link your hands together."

Sakura and Sinbad did as they were instructed, their hands intertwined. Their hearts started to beat at a quick pace when they were then instructed to look at each other.

"Shouldn't we be looking at you?" Sakura asked.

"I want to capture the love between the two and love comes in the eyes. Miss, tilt your head up and to the side and you young man, lean her head slightly down so that you both are looking each other in the eyes but I will still get both of your faces."

Sakura and Sinbad's eyes met and their cheeks visibly bloomed red. The artist noticed this and asked,

"Should I include those blushes of yours?"

They quickly broke eye contact to turn to the painter. "No thank you!"

The artist laughed heartily "Alright, now give a soft smile to one another."

Usually, sitting in the same position and holding the same pose for an hour and a half would cause eventual discomfort in some form. Yet Sakura and Sinbad were nearly completely still the entire time, as if they were already on the canvas as a painting. Their eyes held each other's gaze and their smiles continued to cause a warmth to erupt within their stomachs. They hardly spoke, except with the occasional check that neither were in any discomfort and a bit of small talk. This peaceful silence, it was as if they had been longing for this. To just be together without any responsibilities or burdens weighing on them. Where they could be aware of each other's presence. Their breathing had fallen into perfect sync with one another without them realizing it.

The artist had been moving vigorously, attempting to capture every detail in the couple's expressions; their eyes shades were especially baffling as he had to try three times to get the shades right. However, when he finally pulled back to examine the picture as a whole, he was very pleased.

"It's done."

Sinbad and Sakura had held their gaze for five seconds longer after they were called. They walked over to the artist, their hands linked. Both gasped as they looked at the portrait. The shades and tones blended perfectly together, the colors were mixed to perfection, replicating their skin tones and clothing completely realistically. When Sakura saw the way she and Sinbad were looking at each other in the picture, she felt like crying. It would be a constant reminder to her now, that this was their love.

"Wow…This is amazing."

"Like I said, love comes through the eyes." The man said "I haven't captured emotions so clearly before; the two of you really have a strong love for one another."

Sakura and Sinbad glanced at each other, with gentle smiles. Having no need to say a single word. It seemed that this set back had been best for them, because it was covering the rough distortions of the beginning of their date.

Thanking the man again, Sinbad paid him what was charged for the painting plus extra with how well it had come out, even though he insisted his work wasn't worth that much; it was worth it to them.

"Thank you very much," The artist had packed up his art equipment and was ready to leave. "I hope I get to paint the two of you again someday."

"We'd like that." Sakura smiled.

"Perhaps you'd be interested in a wedding portrait." With that the artist turned around with a wave and left the two teens, flushed as red as tomatoes once again. Both were too disconcerted to say anything relating to what the artist said.

* * *

"Sinbad, we've passed four restaurants already. I thought we were getting something to eat." Sakura continued to barely keep pace with Sinbad as he held her by the hand and lead her through the streets of Balbadd. I was going well into the afternoon now and Sakura had heard her stomach noises change from soft whimpers to threatening growls.

"Not yet, it's still early."

"Well can you at least tell me-

"No I will not tell you where we are going." Sinbad interjected.

Despite Sakura's grumbling protests, she didn't ask Sinbad again about what he had planned. Their last two stops hadn't gone as planned but Sinbad seemed to have a renewed determination for this date. Sinbad wasn't the kind of person who would plan for activities like this so in a way it was interesting to see. They continued until the made it to the end of the city near the docks where Sinbad started making them walk directly down. Although Sakura didn't miss the way Sinbad seemed to be looking for something, his eyes darting around but trying to remain inconspicuous.

'What is he up?' she wondered.

When she saw a small white haired boy that looked an awful lot like Ja'far, she had a feeling she was about to find out. Sinbad made them pick up the pace in their stroll, turning it into a sprint until they reached Ja'far.

"About time, you're fifteen minutes late."

"We had a bit of a bump," Sinbad said, handing Ja'far the painted scroll of Sakura and Sinbad. "Please take that painting back with you and handle it carefully."

"Okay, now that there's two; can one of you tell me what is going on now?" Sakura asked, hands on her hips.

Ja'far stepped to one side on the dock, revealing a small sail boat behind him; a simple design meant for barely more than four people. There were a few blankets and a basket inside of it.

Sinbad put his hand on Sakura's waist. "This is what we're doing for the rest of our date."

"We're going sailing?"

"Well sort of, I figured we sail around for a little while and then stop on one of the smaller islands a little ways off Balbadd for a picnic."

Ja'far had rented out the boat for them and had gotten their food set in the boat, which was why he was waiting at the docks for them to show up.

"Well, shall we?" Sinbad stepped into the boat with ease. Sakura glanced back at Ja'far who was now holding their portrait, he waved off at Sakura telling her to go ahead.

"Yes." Sakura jumped into the boat, rocking a little before sitting down as she and Sinbad set sail.

* * *

The waves rocked the boat steadily as Sinbad steered, holding the rope tied to the sail, he attached it to the tilter for better control. Sakura had a constant smile on her face, she hadn't been sure about sailing in such a small boat but Sinbad seemed to have ample experience with sailing. His father had been a fisherman and he had sailed all the way to Imuchakk on his own boat, similar to the one they were in right now.

They were going so far off, Ballbadd was shrinking further in the distance and Sakura felt lighter. She moved to the end of the bow and leaned over to look at the clear water. The waves were beginning to grow and rock the boat further. Sinbad took them along with the waves so that they were riding it. He expertly got them over the wave's one after the other, leaving Sakura in awe.

"Are you crazy!?" Sakura called out, attempting to keep her balance. She assumed this was what it must be like to surf.

On a particularly big rising wave, Sinbad took the boat up and had it coming on the other side of the wave, Sakura stumbled forward and landed on her knees in Sinbad's lap, knocking him back. Although he was a little sore, he laughed when he saw Sakura's flustered expression.

"Stupid Sinbad!" Sakura exclaimed, slamming her forehead against his chest to hide her red face.

"Okay, no more wave riding."

* * *

The next few minutes sailing was peaceful without any unusual happenings, until Sinbad noticed something.

"Look here." Sinbad said, looking down into the water.

Sakura glanced over, she saw flashes of grey in the water and realized that there was a pod of dolphins coming along both sides of the boat. They seemed to have come out of nowhere, but they were a longer ways into the ocean. She had seen dolphins before, but not at this proximity.

Sinbad looked at Sakura's expression, her complete awe and wonder, beaming with the innocence similar to a child's-something he didn't see from her very often. He wanted to see that expression more often. As much as he loved Sakura, he still wondered about her past, about the secrets she might still be keeping from him.

Sakura enjoyed the light sprinkles of ocean water on her face that cooled her from the sun's heat. She watched as the dolphins sped passed the boat ahead of them. A small dolphin, a baby, came up beside the boat where Sakura was hanging her hand over. The pinkette nearly recoiled when the soft wet nose touched her hand.

"I didn't think wild dolphins would be this friendly towards strangers on their seas." Sakura said as she lowered her hand again for the dolphin to inspect.

"Child's curiosity perhaps." Sinbad said, watching from his position.

Then an adult dolphin swam up quickly to the infant, making a squeaky cry before pushing it away from the boat. With an extra hard splash of its tail, Sakura retracted back when the ocean water splashed in her face and on the top half of her clothing.

Sinbad threw his head back, laughing loudly as Sakura wiped her face. "I suppose that's the effect of a protective parent."

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura put her hand back into the sea, just to gather some in her hand to throw in Sinbad's direction, although she wasn't able to cause as much damage as a dolphins trail with her hand and the distance.

"Thanks for the sprinkle, I kinda needed that in this heat." Sinbad grinned.

'Cocky,' She shuffled over to Sinbad, throwing her arms around him and listening to him cry out as the water soaked into this clothes through hers. Sakura started laughing loudly.

"Serves you right."

When Sakura pulled back, she noticed Sinbad's expression didn't seem to be in anyway disdained, it was rather….concentrated. His eyes trailing down. Following a path of water that went from her face, down her neck and onto her wet top, trailing down the gap of skin…

"You pervert!" Sakura wrapped her arms around herself and turned around. She was thankful that the top was red and not white or anything else that would become translucent when wet. That didn't stop Sinbad from starring at her though.

Sakura went rigid when Sinbad wrapped his arms around her, she could feel his body heat against her back. "I'm sorry, but you know I can't help myself. Unlike some people I don't think it's healthy to hide desire."

"And what exactly does that?" Sakura growled out causing Sinbad to chuckle deeply, which vibrated straight through Sakura.

"It means that you should try being more open to your desires and what you want, instead of caring about where you are." Sinbad leaned down towards the pinkette. "I'm more than willing to help you."

When Sinbad's lips brushed against her neck, Sakura let out a soft moan before pulling away. "Cut that out, will you?! Unlike 'some people' I believe that there is a time and place for everything and right now what you're doing-not the best time considering you're supposed to be sailing us."

Sighing, Sinbad looked back to the tilter and then to Sakura, "Do you want to give it a try?"

"What?"

"Sailing."

…

…

…

…

…

"Okay."

Sakura couldn't understand what angle Sinbad was playing at in getting her to steer the boat the rest of the way to their destination, but she was getting a good idea when he had an excuse to hold her hand and guide her while she steered.

"Easy there, don't crust it." Sinbad said, keeping his hand on top of Sakura's and carefully moving the tilter through her hand. Keeping his eyes in front of him. His other arm was around her shoulder, his face near hers but he continued to look ahead.

Sinbad seemed dedicated in teaching her at least, he showed her how to handle the sail and the tilter to get to the speed she wanted to travel.

"Then you give the sail a little pull…." Sakura tugged on the sail-at first a little too roughly, Sinbad told her to loosen her grip a little and then draw back again.

"There….you're getting it now." Sinbad grinned, "We're nearly there."

"Where?" Sakura asked.

Sinbad pointed ahead, to a small island in the distance, lush and growing closer with the wind's help.

* * *

With Sinbad's assistance, Sakura managed to land the boat roughly on a beach. From only a short inspection, Sakura knew for certain that this beach was entirely deserted. There wasn't a single footprint on the sand and the forest looked too thick to have had any human visitors.

"Wow." She breathed.

"Glad you like it."

They climbed out of the boat, taking off their shoes to walk easier along the beaches. Sinbad suggested that they eat first, since they had been putting that off for a few hours now and were really hungry, so that after they could explore a bit.

"You knew the island was here the whole time?" Sakura asked, throwing out the blankets on the sand.

"Yep; I wanted to take you sailing but I know that it's not always easy to eat lunch on a small sail boat without losing it a few minutes later."

"I'll take your word for it." Sakura laughed as she sat down on the blanket next to Sinbad.

When Sakura unpacked the hefty picnic basket, she found that Ja'far might have gone a little overboard, with a mix of several dishes ranging from fish, meat and chick. Then there was a selection of salads, cheese, rice balls and two bottles of wine-which caused Sakura to ask if Sinbad was really the one who put the basket together, which he denied doing. There was also packs of fruit stored and some pastries that wouldn't spoil or melt in the sun.

"This is way too much." Sakura said, eyeing the spread. Although her stomach was still growling.

Sinbad shrugged. "Maybe Ja'far wanted us to have some options. We are kinda stranded on an island right now. The last time I got stranded with Ja'far and Mystras in the valley, we had nothing to eat but snake."

"Oh I remember." Sakura covered her eyes with her hand, as if recalling a brutal memory. "I still can't get those images out of my head. Those freaking leaves."

Sinbad smirked, "What, you didn't like starring at my ass?"

Sakura glared at Sinbad in turn, puffing out her cheeks. "I didn't stare-I usually just found myself at an unfortunate angle."

"Sure and you keep calling me the pervert."

Growling, Sakura didn't know what to say so she stuffed her mouth with some bread, tearing at it violently as if it was Sinbad's head which made him realize that he should stop teasing her now before she decided to really bite his head off.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry."

Scoffing, Sakura turned her head to the side, her cheeks still full as she spoke. "Besides, I was watching Mystras more than you anyway. It looked like he had the bigger leaf."

Sinbad spat out the contents of his drink onto the sand, "What!? He did not! Couldn't you see the difference!?"

"No, because I wasn't comparing-I didn't even want to look at your asses, never mind the leaves!" Sakura exclaimed, although she was also laughing. She always felt guiltily good about switching positions in the teasing game between her and Sinbad.

Sinbad blushed and pouted, turning his head away in a childish manner. Sakura chuckled in response.

"Relax Sinbad, I was only kidding."

"Well it's not as if Mystras's leaf had you staggering like a new born deer the next morning-

"SINBAD!" Sakura cried, mortified and face turning cherry red. It was hard to maintain the high ground against Sinbad in this game because he could switch things up in an instant.

"Maybe I should call you fawn from now on."

"Don't you ever!" Sakura warned.

"Aw why not, it's cute." Sinbad asked with a cheeky grin.

"No." Sakura deadpanned.

"Then how about cherry-

"No cute nicknames!"

"I'll find you one eventually."

"Don't."

* * *

The two didn't even manage to finish half of their spread and packed the rest up before deciding to get up and take a walk around. Sinbad had complained about not getting to have more than two cups of wine, but Sakura said she didn't want him so drunk he wouldn't be able to take them back to Balbadd nor did she want to spend the rest of her time with him drunk.

They walked hand in hand alongside the beach, their bare feet sinking into the sand, creating footprints along the seamless grains of stone. Continuing for what seemed to be and endless path, but one promising tranquility.

"I can't believe you wouldn't even take a sip of wine."

"Never drink and you'll never lose your head." Sakura countered "Besides, you know I'm not a good drunk."

"That's the point, it'll help you unwind."

Sakura gave a side smile, "Uh huh, and I suppose you're going to take care of me?"  
"Of course."

"All the more reason to stay sober." Sakura's eyes travelled towards the forest. "Let's take a walk through there."

Sinbad enjoyed their quiet walk alongside the beach, but he was craving for some excitement, what's more he also wanted Sakura to enjoy herself to the fullest while they were here and simply walking around didn't seem to be the best option for that.

"Let's play a game." Sinbad declared.

Sakura stopped walking, giving Sinbad an odd look that he was expecting. "Where did that come from?"

"Why not? We're here to have fun after all." Sinbad tugged on her hand, pulling her closer. "Come on."

"What kind of game?" Sakura asked, somewhat skeptical.

"It's called the Fox and the hare, a kind of hunting game. Traditionally, a women-the hare, has to run and after a minute head start, the 'fox' has chase after her to catch her."

"And what happens after the fox catches the hare?" Sakura crossed her eyes, warning Sinbad to tread very carefully in his response.

"The hare rewards the fox with a kiss."

Scoffing, Sakura abruptly turned on her head ready to stomp off. "No thank you, I am not interested."

"Hey-hey-hey, wait a minute." Sinbad ran up after Sakura.

"I am not playing that-

"As if I would be able to catch you if you were the hare, you'd probably hop off somewhere in the forest away from me." Sinbad put his hand on Sakura's shoulder and turned her around. "We're going to play a reverse version."

Sakura pointed between herself and Sinbad to clarify, "I'd be the fox and you the hare?"

Sinbad nodded, "Yes. So what do you say?"

Still unsure, Sakura shifted her weight from one foot to another, the sand sinking her feet. "I don't know Sinbad…

"It's a courting game Sakura; there's nothing wrong with us playing right?"

"I guess not…"

While Sakura didn't have a problem playing games, it was different for her to be participating with Sinbad. She played plenty of games with the children at the company and then there was still the children in Kou she use to entertain. But somehow she was nervous about playing a game with Sinbad.

"Great and to make things more interesting-

"Sinbad…."

"Relax," he waved. "Given the circumstances, I think that we should have a thirty minute time limit for you to find me."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Thirty minutes?"

"Yes, if you can't find me by then you lose. See, this game is usually played in a large group but we're only two, so some additional rules are in order and I think we should change one more thing."

Sakura crossed her arms "I'm listening."

"Instead of a kiss as a reward, the one who wins the game gets to make one request of any kind."

Now Sakura could place why she was so afraid of playing a game with Sinbad. On the other hand, this was an opportunity for Sakura as well and the odds were in her favor-or at least seemed to be.

'Please don't make me regret this.' She silently prayed.

"Alright then, you're on."

* * *

Sakura squirmed as she stood at the divide between the forest and the beach, Sinbad's back was to her. He would have to run in first and get a minute head start before Sakura would chase after him. The waver that they had put on this game of course only made Sakura more determined to capture Sinbad sooner rather than later. He would only have a minute to run and she could outmatch him in speed with her chakra and training behind her. She just hoped it was going to be as easy it seemed, this was Sinbad after all. He excelled when it came to gambling in any form or concept. It was the reason Sakura and Ja'far kept him away from any casinos.

Sinbad looked back at Sakura who still appeared a bit discouraged. "Ready?"

"Sure."

Turning back to the front, Sinbad knew that Sakura didn't seem very into the idea of searching for him in the woods. "Hey, just so you know if you can't find me I'm going to make you do something that's really going to exhaust you."

Feeling as if she had been knocked back by Sinbad's words, Sakura took a step away. He couldn't have possibly meant what she thought he did. "Wait what?"

With a quick wink, Sinbad took off into the forest, as quickly as he could, he had to make that minute gap between them count. Sakura watched as he disappeared into the thickness of the forest, now she was definitely all for winning this game. She was going to make this fair and keep from using her chakra, but Sinbad's declaration had removed all the gloves.

Sakura counted to sixty in her mind, and the second a minute had gone by she took off into the forest as fast as she could. The soft soil, yet to be treaded on by people was barely able to sink her before she took her next step.

Small rays of sunlight shone through the canopy covering the forest, Sakura's eyes darted around as she continued searching for Sinbad. She was vigorous.

'He couldn't have gotten far.' Sakura thought, running deeper and further into the woods.

Sinbad chuckled soft as he watched Sakura look for him; standing behind a tall tree with his back pressed up against it. He was supposed to be running away from her, but instead he would be following her while she ran, changing up their position gave him an upper hand in keeping track of her. He just had to make sure she didn't know how close he was. Seeing how quick she was, if he had stayed in front of her she'd probably find him sooner.

'I'll definitely win this bet.'

* * *

Sakura knew that Sinbad was clever, but she didn't really think that he was going to be able to stay out of sight for this long. She was just going deeper and deeper into the forest with only a couple of small animals appearing and nothing else.

"Dammit!"

She was running out of time, she only had a few minutes left.

"That damn pervert. Where could he have gone?" Sakura muttered, running her hand through her hair. She got ready to take off again, when she heard the slightest rustling coming from somewhere but she couldn't place the exact location. Sakura didn't look back and started running again.

* * *

Sinbad watched as Sakura took off again in search for him, there was only five minutes left and at the rate things were going, he was going to win their little wager. He couldn't help the big grin that spread across his face. The bet was that the winner could give one demand…his imagination was running wild. They had already passed all boundaries and stages, she could call him a pervert all she wanted but he was definitely going to enjoy his victory.

Then he heard a soft whisper behind him. "Wipe that smirk off you face."

Spinning around, Sinbad backed up when he saw Sakura one hand resting against a tree trunk and the other hand on her hip.

"How did you….?" Sinbad lifted a shaking finger to the pinkette.

"Took me a while to figure out your little trick, but I did. I just had to figure out what would be the most 'Sinbad' move for you to make." Sakura drew back and started walking forward. "You knew you couldn't outrun me, so you shadowed me instead. Very clever."

Sinbad took a step back. He was both terrified and surprisingly excited as Sakura continued to move towards him.

"Now…"

Gulping, Sinbad spun on his heel and ran as fast as he could, Sakura wasn't too far behind him. He didn't have to look back to know that Sakura was hot on his trail, if anything she was just toying with him. Sinbad broke out into a clearing in the forest, into an open field.

'Oh crap.' He needed to get to the other side if he wanted a chance at losing her.

"Nice try!"

When Sinbad made it to the top of one of the hills, Sakura tackled him from behind and the two ended up rolling down, holding onto one another as they toppled ungracefully into the field. When they finally came to as top, Sakura rolled off her back and pinned down Sinbad. Her hands holding down each of his wrists as he panted softly.

"By three minutes, I win." Sakura declared proudly and grinning wide. She crossed her arms over her chest, still sitting on Sinbad's stomach. "Now I get to give you one command."

Sinbad took a breath, looking up at Sakura as she leaned over him. Reaching up, he touched the side of her face, brushing his thumb over her cheek. Her eyes widened as she finally seemed to comprehend her position "Yeah you win-you know I kinda like you on top."

Abruptly, Sakura rolled off of Sinbad starring up at the darkening sky that was beginning to get an orange tinge and the clouds were dusting pink.

"Didn't I tell it'd be fun?" Sinbad chided next to her.

Snickering, Sakura continued to stare up at the sky. "Alright, I admit it was fun."

"I'm glad, you really needed a break. You've been doing a lot lately."

"So have you." Sakura countered softly, feeling the grass brush the back of her neck.

"Well that's mainly because I've seen how hard you've been working. You have desk work, floor work and then there's the new pharmaceuticals you've been working on, not to mention the children at the company and-

"Okay, okay, I get it." Sakura put her hand over Sinbad's mouth, laughing as he continued speaking with a muffle voice she couldn't make out.

"So, what's your request?" Sinbad asked after she removed her hand.

Sakura raised her eyebrow, "You're kinda eager huh?"

"I don't mind full filling a request if you're the one commanding it." Leaning over, Sinbad gave her a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "I'll do whatever you want. As long as you promise to keep smiling."

Although they were this close, it was still hard for Sakura not to be affected by Sinbad's bold statements and suggestions, she found him endearing but at the same time he had a dominant role in intimacy in their relationship. It was a bit disheartening when she thought about how he was willing to pour in all this effort when they agreed to both give it their all but he seemed to be the only one honoring that.

'It is kind of his strong suit though.' She attempted to reason with herself. She had only ever been in love with Sasuke before Sinbad and those feelings weren't reciprocated. She was naïve and at the same time, still a little scared about acting on her emotions because of the reaction she might receive. It had escalated after her conversation with King Rashid and the concept of losing Sinbad. Not only did it make her worry about their future, but about the steps they would take in the direction of that future. She wanted to avoid them at all cost. Although she knew it was due to her own paranoia and nothing based on material evidence-at least when it came to Sinbad.

'Even when we were together that night…' Sakura blushed hard. Sinbad had been in complete control then too. He was the more experienced of the two but she didn't want it to always be like this. She wanted to put in an effort for him as well. He had even went through all this trouble for their first date.

When she thought about today's events, the way he planned out the day to be perfect and how distressed he got when something was off. Like when they couldn't go dancing. The way they looked at each other when they were painted. She couldn't forget that smile on Sinbad's face.

She had been afraid of losing Sinbad the way she had lost Sasuke. That she wouldn't be strong enough to hold onto him and she had subconsciously started to distance herself for Sinbad, as if to ready herself for that blow. So that when he walked away, she didn't have to watch him turn his back on her for too long because she had already started the distance.

'I can't keep doing this to him,' Sakura thought, looking at Sinbad. His eyes were closed, a light breeze brushing his bangs across his face. She shuffled closer resting her head on his arm and hand on his chest, Sinbad peaked through one eye at Sakura but he didn't say anything. He pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head.

Sakura and Sinbad left that field only an hour later, they decided to explore the rest of the island. They walked hand in hand through the forest, running on occasion and chasing after each other like children, their laughter echoing through the woods. They admired the views they came across, from the wild flowers and plants to the mountains, lakes, waterfalls and animals. Their lightheartedness was a constant that came with their isolation.

* * *

Time passed by and Sakura had them return to the beach to watch the sunset; which was unlike anything Sakura had seen before. The sun wasn't obscured by the cluster of manmade architectures. Reflecting off the ocean, appearing as if it was actually sinking into it. The sky was already losing its fleeting multicolor. The weather started to grow a bit cold, so they built a fire and sat down on the blankets. Sakura sat between Sinbad's legs, his arms around her.

"So, did you enjoy today?" Sinbad asked with a tinge of hopefulness that Sakura did not miss. Lifting her chin, Sakura kissed the front of Sinbad's throat, feeling his pulse pick up.

"I did, thank you." Sakura looked back out to the vanishing sunset, her heart and mind set fully for what was to occur.

Sinbad beamed with pride, still having a lingering feeling on his throat. "See; I told you I could be romantic."

"You never cease to surprise." Sakura replied honestly. As silence settled over them again, Sakura could feel and almost hear her own heartbeat, growing heavier and quicker. She knew she wouldn't be perfect and that she would probably still fumble and be nervous just like before, but she was determined and she knew what determination to do.

'It's Sinbad, there's nothing to be afraid of.'

"Sinbad…."

When Sinbad looked down to the pinkette, he was caught by surprise when she kissed him but it didn't take him long to respond. They started slowly, pulling back barely a moment before returning to each other. Sinbad felt Sakura leaning for of her weight against him, easing him down onto the blankets. When they pulled back, they were both breathing softly and quickly.

"Sakura, what are you-

"I have my request." Sakura cut him off, she leaned down and whispered to him. Sinbad's eyes widened with surprise, shock and excitement. He looked back to his partner's expression, her mouth in a straight line with a slight pout, her cheeks red and her eyes were gleaming, serious and determined.

Sinbad had been rendered speechless, his mouth slightly ajar, opening and closing like a fish out of water.

'Please don't let this be a dream.' He silently begged.

"Well….?" Sakura titled her head to the side, waiting for Sinbad's response. He gave a shaky nod, swallowing audibly when Sakura's fingers brushed again his collar bone. Then slid under his shirt, skimming the side of his waist. Sinbad didn't think he'd ever seen Sakura this bold before, she was usually so timid when it came to intimate relations. Did the date somehow change her perspective, or create some expectation that she needed to fill? He wanted this but not if it was for that reason.

"S-Sakura, are you sure? This is still new to you and I don't want you to force-

"I'm sure." Sakura said, looking back up to Sinbad.

"But, thi-this isn't really like you and-

"I love you Sinbad."

Sinbad felt his heart skip a beat, they have told other people about their developed feelings but since Heliohapt, they haven't said it to each other since. Sakura rested her head on Sinbad's shoulder, resting her entire body on top of his.

Sinbad embraced Sakura tightly, "I love you too, Sakura."

That was all the consent either needed to continue, Sakura's request was going to be fulfilled that night. Unfortunately, neither had thought of how exhausted they were going to be after-but it was definitely worth it.

* * *

Sakura and Sinbad didn't return to Balbadd until the following morning, where they managed to sneak into their room in a hurried desperation to prepare for the day before Ja'far or anyone else came barging in, telling them to get to work and then realizing that they had only returned just recently and put two and two together when they figured out the reason why. Sakura immediately went to the closet to get their clothing for her and Sinbad. They began their attempt in looking as if they hadn't just spent the night on the beach.

When Sakura came to the mirror she gave a short shriek, inspecting herself more closely. There were different shadows of red blotches scattered all over her skin, from her neck going down to her chest; contrasting with her light complexion.

"Dammit Sinbad!" Sakura hissed, "I can't believe you! I'm going to have to heal all of this you know!"

Sinbad looked back to the scowling pinkette, but all he seemed to be doing was admiring his handiwork. He grinned. "Yeah that's a lot."

Sakura held up both of her fists, clenched tightly. "Is that all you have to say!?"

"No-I don't think you should heal them." Sinbad deadpanned.

"If I don't heal them, everyone is going to know!" Sakura exclaimed, waving her hands up in the air. Sinbad muttered that they might know soon if Sakura didn't lower her voice; that would make their sneaking in a waste.

"Well it's not entirely my fault, you made the request. Besides…" Sinbad snickered, he removed his top and turned around so that his back was facing Sakura. The pinkette became red when she saw the light indentations of thin lines-four in a row decorating Sinbad's back. "It's not like you were totally clear this time either. They still kinda hurt you know?"

Sakura rushed over to Sinbad, forgetting her own marks as she put her hands on his back to heal his. "I'm so sorry-I wasn't thinking-I should've been more careful-I promise I won't ever do it again-

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Sinbad turned around and grabbed Sakura's hands before she could heal him. "I was only teasing, they don't hurt at all and I don't want you to get rid of them."

Sakura turned her head, swallowing hard. "Oh…well you can hide them anyway."

"That's not the reason." Sinbad stated strongly. He leaned forward, his forehead connecting with Sakura's. "I want these marks to remain for the longest time, because it will remind me of another day we grew closer."

"Sinbad…" Sakura leaned in with Sinbad and just as the two were about to connect in a kiss-the door swung open to an angry Ja'far.

"WHAT'S TAKING YOU TWO SO LONG, I KNOW YOU MUST HAVE COME HOME LATE FROM YOUR DATE BUT-

Ja'far stopped in his tracks as he saw Sinbad and Sakura, in each other's arms and still in the same clothing as the day before. As his mind trailed to the worst case scenario and also the most accurate, he carefully backed away and started closing the door.

"Didn't mean to intrude…."

Sakura and Sinbad only seemed to react after the soft click of the door was heard, like hearing the 'go' at the start of a race.

"Wait, Ja'far!" Sakura called out, but it was obvious that he had already left. Sakura buried her hands in her face. "Oh no…"

Sinbad was having a completely different reaction to Ja'far's intrusion as he was smiling instead of grimacing. "Well, I don't think you need to worry about those marks giving anything away now."

"STUPID SINBAD."

 **DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	38. The truth and letting go

**Hello everyone, here is another chapter for you. Now even though it's holidays for me, I have a lot to take care of right now. So I am not sure when I can update or write again because currently time is not my own.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter**

* * *

 _Again….there was nothing but darkness and when she called out in an effort to scream, her voice was lost. Dread filled her completely as the darkness began to clear to give way to an image that was fare more horrifying to her than eternal darkness. She couldn't feel anything on the outside, no warmth despite the flames. And when she saw the blood splattered and splayed along the ground, the pools of red; the chains rattling and screams echoing without vanishing she knew, it was happening again._

 _She clutched her head tightly, 'No, no, no!'_

 _She wanted to just shut her eyes and wake up from this horrifying nightmare, the children and men in armour scattered the ground, drowning in a sea of their own blood. Amongst all of the agony, a single silhouette figure emerged from the flames, untouched by them, a confident stride._

' _NO, NOT AGAIN.' Sakura tried to move but she was paralysed, it felt like a weight had been pressed up on her chest in an effort to completely crush her._

 _Then she saw 'it' again, the darkest embodiment of herself; what terrified the most was her eyes, those green eyes coloured with black sclera._

" _Wasn't it fun?" Sakura stopped breathing as she heard the whisper so close to her ear, the figure now behind her._

 _Just like before, she couldn't respond. All she could do was watch and stare in complete terror._

 _The figure then stopped in front of Sakura, dropping the body of a familiar boy in front of her with lifeless eyes. Then it started crying, tears of red poured down before she fell to her knees, her wails becoming agonizing to hear._

" _Was it worth it?" it asked and even though it wasn't looking, Sakura knew she was the one being addressed. The figure looked up at her, her eyes glaring daggers of hatred straight into Sakura._

" _WAS IT?"_

Sakura awakened with a heavy gasp for breath as if she hadn't breathed in so long. That dream, which seemed to play on a loop had suddenly changed; even though it was minimal it was just as unsettling. The monster mirroring her image, bursting into red tears. Sakura couldn't make any sense of it-not that her sleep deprived mind was able to put in much effort.

Glancing at her side, she saw Sinbad was sleeping soundly, lying on his side with his arm under his head. His breathing shallow and calm; obviously clear of any unwanted nightmares unlike her. Sakura could feel her sweat making her skin stick to the sheets and that was nearly all of her.

'It's just a dream.'

With that in mind, Sakura closed her eyes again and went back to sleep-one thing she knew about that nightmare, it did not happen twice in the same night.

* * *

Being trapped in a room with the strong scents of herbal plants that did not mingle well together, practically combatting for dominance in the air, enough to sting your nose and burn your eyes would make anyone change direction or open a window at least, but not Sakura. To Sakura, this was her sanctuary and her favorite part of her job description. She could sit and work at her table for hours, coming up with new and improve medicines and herbal remedies.

This Pharmaceuticals section was a recent branch of the company Sakura had been placed in charge of, as she had the most experience and ability in this department. She was also really the only one in this department; Serendine had a hand in helping as well but Sakura's medical knowledge exceeded her own. Poisons were more the princess's strong suit. Although Sinbad had mentioned that it would help if Sakura trained some of their current employees to help in this department. However, that would take up whatever free time Sakura had, so she put that off for now. If the department's products reached a certain demand, then Sakura said she would train other employees.

Sakura was crushing some herbs together, grinding it into a fine powder. Placing it into a cup, she then poured boiling water in it, watching the power dissolved. Bringing it closer to her nose to inhale deeply, catching its strong earthy smell. She was looking to make a tea to relieve fatigue; she was also working on creating food pills-similar to the ninja food pills. That would restore energy and relieve hunger. Sakura hoped to use the ingredients from the tea and then find ways to advance further into her food pill.

'Now the taste test.'

Since she wanted to ensure that her products were side effect free Sakura took to testing everything on herself first. When Sakura barely took a sip she spat out the tea, wiping her mouth.

"Okay that's not right." Sakura cringed, her tongue still numb with the bitter taste of the tea. She took a cloth, wiping up the spill on the table. She reached for her charts, eyes scanning over the ingredients as she tried to find a catalyst that would remove the bitter taste and wouldn't compromise its medicinal properties. "Worse than chewing on leather."

As Sakura resumed her work, she felt a presence behind her that sent a chill down her spine. Spinning around while raising her leg for a drop kick, Sakura barely registered the flash of purple and surprised golden colored eyes before she sent Sinbad across the room and into a wall.

"Ah-Sinbad-I'm so sorry!" Rushing over to uncover the body she just buried in the side of the wall. She pulled Sinbad to sit up straight and proceeded to heal him.

"I'm so sorry…" Sakura repeated, pulling back her hands.

"It's alright." Sinbad assured with a bit of a pained smile, patting the top of Sakura's head which was hanging low as she moped. He made a mental note not to attempt to surprise her by coming up from behind without warning. Somehow he knew he was lucky that she hadn't put all her strength into that kick or he might be dead right now.

"Are you sure? You're not in any more pain?" Sakura asked worriedly, holding out her hands, ready to heal.

"Yes Sakura, I'm fine," Sinbad reassured her, standing up and holding out his hand for her to take. He lifted her up off the floor and looked back to the wall. "You didn't even crack the wall this time, you must've really been holding back."

Sakura puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment; she had just barely registered that Sinbad was behind her and managed to pull back but not stop in time. "What are you doing here? Aren't you still working?"

"Yeah, but I need the completed update reports on the new products."

"You could've just sent someone instead." Sakura pointed, watching while Sinbad gazed around her work space.

"Yeah, but then I'd miss a chance to see you."

"Man, you're hopeless." Sakura snickered. She wrapped her arms around Sinbad from behind, kissing his cheek and pulling away, watching his face fall. She turned to the shelf in the corner, taking out four scrolls with her completed reports.

"What, that's all I get?" Sinbad pouted touching his cheek. "Take the time out of my busy schedule to come and see you and you first kick me and then only give me a peck on the cheek."

"This isn't exactly the best place to get heated Sinbad." Sakura stated, putting the scrolls on the table. "Speaking of which, what were you trying to do when you snuck up behind me like that?"

Sinbad grew still, contemplating the answer that he should give his girlfriend with the supernatural strength. "Well…..I was just going to give you a hug of course."

"Sure…" Sakura sarcastically drawled, her eyes fell on the cup she had left on the table and back to Sinbad. She smiled, taking the cup and handing it over to Sinbad. "Here try this, it's a new herbal tea that's supposed to relieve fatigue."

Sinbad took the cup, warily eyeing the contents. "It's not made from the same things as that pill I took in Heliohapt right?"

"I don't want you throwing up in here and I drank it myself so no." Sakura confirmed, although after Sinbad took the first gulp and spat it out, she burst out laughing.

"I haven't figured out how to remove the bitter taste just yet."

After wiping his mouth, Sinbad looked at Sakura with a playful and wicked smile which had the pinkette slowly back away to the other side of the table. Sinbad started running after her, the two were running around the table.

"Stop it." Sakura laughed, coming around the corner of the table, Sinbad following in pursuit

"Only when you stop running."

Sakura was on one side of the table then and Sinbad on the other, when they stopped.

"Good, now stay there." Sinbad started coming around the table, when Sakura quickly dashed to the other side where Sinbad had been, their positions swapped.

"Uh-uh, you're not coming anywhere near me with that look in your eyes."

Sinbad smirked, "Well I can only do that when I'm near you."

They started their routine again, Sakura and Sinbad running around the table of medicines and herbs. One attempting to catch while the other continued to evade.

Finally, realizing that she was playing cat and mouse with one of the most persistent, arrogant and determined men she had ever met, Sakura halted, holding up her hands in surrender as Sinbad charged towards her. "Okay-okay-okay. I apologize."

"Not good enough." Sinbad chimed, wrapping his arms tightly around the pinkette's waist. "You know what I want."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura pushed up on the soles of her feet, throwing her arms over Sinbad's shoulders. "Guess I owe you this much."

She gave a quick peck on his lips, but Sinbad held the back of her head to keep her in place and kiss her again, with fierce demand and wanton passion. When he did pull back, Sakura made sure to lean back and keep her head to the side. Flustered and short of breath.

"Geez, when I said I owe you, I didn't think you were gonna charge interest." Sakura said jokingly, moving back to the table. "Take the reports and then get back to work. You're not getting any happy hours during work hours."

Sakura went back to her work, but Sinbad's presence had not left the room yet. He came up behind Sakura again and pulled her into a hug from behind.

"Was there something else?"

"Not really; I just want to get a few more moments in with my favorite blossom."

Sakura should have known that this was going to happen; after their date Sinbad was back to showering her with the same level of affection as he did back in Heliohapt. She knew that she was partially to blame though, given the conclusion of their date that she had initiated. And since Ja'far had walked in on them, their relationship's development wasn't a secret any longer and Sinbad couldn't have been happier about that.

'Why do I keep putting myself in these situations?'

While Sinbad was respectful enough to take Sakura's opinions and final say into consideration when it came to these matters that didn't mean he wasn't persistent at swaying her mind given his determination. Although in this case Sakura knew she had to put her foot down. She had lessons with Serendine for the rest of her day and she was going to need to finish the last of her work now if she wanted that to happen.

"I love you, Saku." Sinbad muttered into the back of her neck.

"Love you too." Sakura replied, rather dull in response.

"Love you more."

"Okay, you win can I go back to work now?" Sakura giggled moving her neck out of Sinbad's range. She heard an audible moan in disdain from him.

"Noooooo."

"I'll call Ja'far."

Sinbad stepped back, grumbling as he gathered the reports. "Fine, but don't think this is over."

"It never is." Sakura sighed, closing her one eye on the side where Sinbad gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before making his way to the door. However the door opened on the other side and Ja'far stepped in. At first Sinbad and Sakura were under the assumption that he was there to drag Sinbad back to his desk, but that wasn't the case.

"Sinbad, you have visitors."

* * *

The visitors were the members of Barbarossa's Independent Nationalist Party. The same ones that Sakura and Sinbad had seen with Barbarossa when they went to Parthevia as part of King Rashid's escort. Dairu, was on the person that Barbarossa had addressed before. They had come personally to inform Sinbad that the Independent Nationalist Party had won the election and were now in power. Barbarossa, being party leader was now head of state. While this was good news for the company as a whole, Sakura wasn't all that excited at the idea of working closely with Barbarossa, despite the opportunity. It was for Sinbad, therefore she would endure him. She would also need to ensure that Barbarossa did not let the truth slip out about her.

Sakura had been contemplating since their date about when she should tell Sinbad the truth. It was her biggest secret-yet disturbingly enough there seemed to be plenty who already knew without her consent. The situation was like standing at the edge of a cliff on a scorching summer's day, a large crystal cool lake just below. All one needed was to gather up the courage to jump and take the plunge to relieve them of this painful heat but every time you thought of falling, you'd reel back.

Dairu handed Sinbad a scroll. "We've come to deliver, an invitation from his Excellency to our celebration. We've been sent to escort Lord Sinbad, President of Sindria Trading Company to Parthevia as a state guest."

There were a few shocked exclamations at the news; inviting merchants from a trading company as state guests wasn't something typical. Dairu pointed that they wouldn't have done that for any other trading company but this one was the exception. Sakura clearly understood why, but new arrivals like Pipirika was still in a state of shock and confusion.

"Let me explain." Ja'far said to Pipirika.

Ja'far elaborated, that their company, Sindria Trading Company was different from other trading company's; mainly for their trading conduct within an extensive territory. Such as Imuchakk, Sasan, Artemyra, Heliohapt, Balbadd and Reim. They had also recently acquired the property and trade routes of the Mariadel Company, which Sindria trading company had used as capital to expand their operations. Employees from all over the world were 3,000 in total, they also had 11oo personal warships. Sindria trading company had become one of the top trading companies in the world because of its accomplishments.

"I-I didn't know we accomplished that much!" Pipirika exclaimed while Mystras attempted to calm her.

Dairu looked back to Sinbad. "So, what do you think Lord Sinbad?"

Sinbad smirked, "Of course, I'll gladly accept your invitations."

"I'm sure his Excellency will be pleased to hear that."

Sakura glanced around the corner where she felt Serendine had been standing and listening in for a while now. She wouldn't allow their visitors to see them of course, she was still a runaway princess of Parthevia. Although Sakura pretended not to notice the princess, waiting to until after their visitors and the other's had left the room to see them off. Sakura then nudged Sinbad to look behind him, directing him to the corner the princess was hiding behind.

Sinbad and Sakura walked towards Serendine, who was leaned back against the wall, seemingly careless but obviously not to those who bothered to look close enough.

"You're going to Parthevia again?" She asked Sinbad.

"It's pointless to try and stop me."

"I won't… at least for now."

Sakura looked back and forth between the two; the silence becoming suffocating. While Serendine worked well at the company, she and Sinbad were on completely different terrains when it came to allying with Parthevia as it was right now. Whenever Serendine and Sakura had their lesson; Sakura always ensured to keep from mentioning the princess's country or convince her that its situation had changed for the better, simply because the monarchy were no longer the ones who held the real power in the country. Sakura definitely wouldn't have wanted to hear that her village or world was doing so much better without her in it; so why attempt to coax the princess to believe that of her own country?

"We should get start packing," Sinbad said to Sakura.

She nodded, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You go on, I'll be there shortly."

Knowing that Sakura wanted to speak with Serendine on her own, Sinbad left without question. Although Sinbad was gone, the tense atmosphere created by the two hadn't vanished just yet. Sakura stood in front of Serendine with her hands in front of her.

"Serendine…."

"I'm okay." She said immediately. While Sakura knew that it was not the truth, she didn't point it out as it was obvious and it wouldn't have been polite to poke at the princess's intellect by doing so. Instead, Sakura stepped closer towards her; wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled Serendine towards her.

The princess didn't say anything, only returning the hug. Her arms wrapping around Sakura's waist, as she rested her head on the girl's shoulder. Neither said a word as they continued to hold one another, comfort being their own necessity.

* * *

Although Sakura wished she could've told the princess that she wasn't all that keen about returning to Parthevia and seeing Barbarossa. Even though she hadn't said anything about going with Sinbad to this celebration; he had made the decision then and she wouldn't argue. Not when there was a still a chance Barbarossa would reveal to Sinbad what Sakura had been keeping from him. Setting all of their promises, hopes and progress alight and turn it into ash. She would not let that happen.

Sakura and Sinbad were not the only ones who decided to accept the invitation; Ja'far had joined them as well. While this was supposedly only a celebration for Barbarossa's party winning the election; Ja'far wanted to see the result of the new Parthevia for himself but more so; the man who had previously attempted to have Sinbad assassinated by none other than him. There weren't any objections to having the boy join them, he was one of the brightest in the company and more than deserving of the experience.

The celebration began in the early evening, right after the sun had set. Sakura, Sinbad and Ja'far had an argument for over nearly an hour before coming to the celebration hall and that was just on Sakura's attire. Both males were insistent on her wearing a dress and such for the event. Of course neither were bold or brave enough to attempt to force her into one, since they would most likely end up fatally injured-as Sakura had promised they would be should they try anything.

Sakura said that she did not want to look like some shiny accessory to be paraded around. That was not the impression she wanted to give and Sinbad was going to have to live with that. Of course Sinbad's intentions were far from such; he just wanted to see her in a dress again as there have only been few occasions and he enjoyed them.

" _I am not here for your viewing pleasure!"_

That is what she had said to him in return. Along with a string of words that were better suited to a drunken sailor than a pink haired kunoichi. Serendine might have been teaching her to draw back on some of her more instinctual practices and mannerisms that Rurumu was unable to tame; but that did not mean they were entirely deleted. The only reason they were there was for Barbarossa, the rest of the crowds were not of importance to her.

The Parthevia Empire's Celebration Hall, was a large two story building that could hold hundreds at a time. Although nowhere near that many were privileged to the chance. The room was filled with the expected number of high-class, high-born. Tables upon tables, neatly laid and arranged with platters and dishes of all kinds were seen in every angle, yet never causing crowds. As expected, the attire code was 'dress to impress' or 'over show the rest'. A tune that Sakura refused to dance to. In fact, she, Sinbad and Ja'far remained in the distance.

"No drinking." Sakura warned Sinbad as she took a cup from him.

"Come on-

"No. You're not losing your head tonight."

Sinbad grumbled but before it could turn into a real argument, there was an announcement that caught everyone's attention.

"And now it's time for a greeting from our Independent Nationalist Party Leader. Our Incumbent President Barbarossa."

Applause echoed through the celebration hall as Barbarossa made his appearance on the top floor of the building, overlooking the entire celebration hall. All attention fallen on the former Parthevian general as he gave his speak. Sakura, Sinbad and Ja'far looked up at him just as the rest of the guests did. Eager to hear what he had to say.

"This country has finally welcomed an end to its long history of war. The victory is a monumental step towards changing our country and towards changing our world."

Sakura grimaced at the last part of his sentence. What's more she felt as if something was trying to push into her, a nearly non-existent weight coming off in waves yet it didn't go through her.

'Must be my imagination.' Sakura thought

"All of you here tonight will become my witnesses. Parthevia will be reborn, as long as its proud citizens still exist!"

A loud rupture of cheers and applause followed after Barbarossa's bold yet moving speech. The audience cheered on as Barbarossa left the upper case; most likely heading down again.

Ja'far tugged on the hood wrapped around his head, surprise sketched on his face. "He's so popular!"  
Sinbad was smiling, in a manner that seemed prideful-Sakura didn't really expect much else. "Isn't he? I was surprised the first time I saw him too."

The white haired boy looked around, observing the individuals in the high-born crowd. His eyes fell a man wearing gold armor, with a design that placed him from Reim "The Supreme Commander of the Reim Imperial army, Ignatus."

His eyes started to travel through the crowds and stopped again, as he pointed out yet another higher up. "Emperor Hakutoku, who turned three countries of the east into one new nation. The Kou Empire."

"What!?" Sakura's entire body turned to ice, completely rigid as she looked to where Ja'far had pointed and swallowed hard when she saw that it was indeed the Emperor of the Kou Empire and right next to him on his arm was his wife and the empress of Kou. Gyokuen.

'Oh crap.'

' _This is probably bad, right?' Said Stolas._

" _You think?" Gaap replied sarcastically, "The last time our king met with that women, she announced that our king would become an empress."_

Sakura wasn't sure what kind of reaction she would receive if spotted by the pair; she had left Kou in the dead of night without a word of warning to anyone-aside from Kouen. He had no issues with letting her leave, but in a way, it could be considered disrespectful for a guest in a palace to simply take off without a word and after she was supposedly also courting the first prince-when there were also expectations for her to marry. At least Sakura couldn't see any cause for laughter in this particular predicament. She was going to have to make sure to avoid them spotting her.

"Hey Ja'far, could I use your wrap?" Sakura asked.

Ja'far gave her an odd look, "What? Why?"

Sakura let out a frustrated growl at the back of her throat, "Will you please give it here?"

Sinbad frowned at the pinkette's sudden bizarre behavior, "Sakura, what's-

"Oh, thanks for coming Sinbad."

Sakura, Ja'far and Sinbad turned around and saw Barbarossa making his way towards them with two of his attendants behind. Sinbad greeted him, first addressing him as 'Lord Barbarossa' before correcting to 'President' due to his change in stations; however Barbarossa told him to simply address him as he always has since they were friends.

The situation was like running through a maze and reaching a corner every time you attempted to avoid one; that was what it seemed like to Sakura. Barbarossa looked at Sakura, smiling.

"It's good to see you again, Sakura."

Plastering a smile in return, hard and flat she replied, "Thank you for inviting us, President Barbarossa."

"Congratulations on your sweeping victory in the election." Sinbad said,

"It's all thanks to the efforts of our party members and the support of the people." Barbarossa brushed. "Besides I couldn't go back on the promise I made you?"

Ja'far frowned, "Promise?"

Sakura and Sinbad jumped; realizing they were yet to tell Ja'far about another deal that Sinbad had made with Barbarossa while they were there.

"You haven't told him about it?" asked Barbarossa.

Sinbad rubbed the back of his neck, his sweat dropped at the side of his face. "Ah, no…"

"Well it was just a verbal promise and not an official proposal." Barbarossa stated, completely collected. "I guess a leader can't be expected to announce a matter that isn't settled yet."

'Or he just flat out forgets.' Sakura mentally added, crossing her arms. She peered her neck gently over in the direction of Gyokuen and Hakutoku. Both seemed rather occupied at the moment, so she could return to her other discomfort that was Barbarossa. It wasn't just her though; when Barbarossa asked Ja'far who he was, he simply replied that he was the chief accountant without giving his name. It sunk in that the last time Ja'far actually had relation to Barbarossa when he was an assassin hired to kill Sinbad. Therefore there was no risk of yet another disconcerting encounter.

"There is actually something I would like the show the three of you."

* * *

Barbarossa had them settle at a clear table, away from the masses-much to Sakura's relief. He then rolled out a map of Parthevia, pointing near the edge of the country and the parchment, a small splotch amongst the rest of the land. "Here; this island was once a flourishing port city, but due to the effects of the war it's been completely abandoned. So I was thinking of letting you have it."

Barbarossa continued to pitch the island to the three and while, Sakura, Sinbad and Ja'far were listening attentively; their reactions were quite varied rather than mutual. He told them that the island had a stable current and that it had the potential to become the central base of their trading routes between Reim and Balbadd. He didn't leave out the cons in his list like a desperate seller looking to make a quick deal before his merchandise lost its profitability, which added to appeal. Barbarossa told them that the island's weak point was it wasn't suitable for habitation, it was also quite small and experienced differences in temperature.

"But you could build a residential area in this sector." Barbarossa pointed to a spot, "Your country will be primarily a mercantile nation, after all. I don't think you will require any more than this but what do you think?"

Ja'far was looking at Sakura and Sinbad like they had completely fallen off the edge of a sail boat and wanted to drown. Sinbad was too caught up to be paying attention to the boy's expression but Sakura didn't miss it, even while she continued to keep a watch out for the Kou rulers.

'When did you decide this?' Ja'far mouthed to Sakura so that only she could see, he also added in some subtle hand gestures to clarify his question.

Sakura simply jabbed her thumb towards Sinbad, telling Ja'far that he was the one who had asked Barbarossa to find land to build his country.

" _Aren't you missing the part where you suggested to him to make the offer?" asked Beleth._

'It was a thought and I told him not to take it seriously.' Sakura argued back. While in honesty, she wanted to discard any consideration she had on joining forces with Barbarossa, but if it meant peace with Parthevia and yet another advantage for Sinbad she would keep quiet and out of the way-just as Serendine did.

Sinbad was rubbing his chin, smiling at the map. "This island seems great…once things calm down a little, we'll have time to go check it out…

"Let's go now." Barbarossa announced.

"Huh?"

"This is precious and you have a company employee here with you and your partner. Let's go now."

Sinbad was quick to argue, although he wouldn't have minded, he didn't want to impose and make himself less desirable in perspective of what was happening. "No, no, we can't. After all you're the most important person of today's celebration…."

Barbarossa didn't seem offended and continued to insist, "It's fine. My subordinates are used to me doing things like this."

"Yep…" said subordinates replied, deadpanning.

Sakura didn't even think to go against the offer, if it meant that she could escape the celebration hall. She had already lost sight of Gyokuen and Hakutoku, but that didn't leave her feeling any lighter. There was the rush of anxiety that came as opportunity of escape was visible and all that mattered was reaching it before that window closed.

Sinbad appeared like he was about to launch another argument when Sakura cut him off, speaking in a rather high-strung manner. "That sound like a wonderful idea, if you're certain it won't be an inconvenience to you Lord Barbarossa."

"Not at all." Barbarossa said, playing along with the pinkette's act. It made Sakura wonder whether or not he actually picked up on it. Either way as long as he didn't attempt to poke holes, she was fine with his responses. "What do you say, Sinbad?"

Sinbad glanced at Sakura, he knew that she had placed on a façade. "Sure…"

"Excellent," Barbarossa clapped once, "I'll arrange for a carriage right away-

"S-Sakura?"

The entrance of the new voice turned their heads in the direction; Sakura looked as if she had been knocked off balance when she saw Hakuren standing behind her, Sinbad and Ja'far. He looked equally surprised at the sight of her, blinking rapidly, gaping like a fish out of water.

"It is you!" exclaimed Hakuren, pointing at her. Sakura found out quickly when she was at Kou that was a very easy-going person and he didn't have a very rigid persona in public. Behaving at a formal event as he would in his own home. Which Sakura thought was quite respectable.

Sakura wanted to believe that this was not happening, of course every logical part of her mind pointed to the obvious. That this was indeed real and that right now, she was caught between a rock and a hard place-both ready to pressed forward and crush her.

"Hakuren…"

The Kou prince stepped forward, Sakura wasn't sure what to expect but she let out a loud 'ooph' as she found herself engulfed in a tight hug. Although they were quiet, Sakura could feel Ja'far and Sinbad's stares on her as the Kou prince continued to embrace her.

"I missed you! Where have you been?"

" _This is interesting. Who is this person?" asked Sitri, curiosity blended with a hint of mischief to make Sakura hiss._

" _It is one of the Kou princes," Beleth stated._

" _Oh…" Sitri trailed, figuring out the situation for her king. "This….may just become eventful."_

"Prince Hakuren," Barbarossa greeted the Kou prince. Hakuren pulled away from Sakura, he acknowledged Barbarossa's greeting by lifting his arms, forming a fist and holding it with his other hand. A greeting in Kou.

"President Barbarossa, congratulations on your party winning the election." Hakuren said, never losing his smile or radiance that had appeared when he saw Sakura-who was still frozen as she processed the sudden overload of shock and her predicament, which was by far the most awkward. It was as if she had gone into some kind of shock induced coma.

"Thank you," Barbarossa turned to Sinbad and Ja'far-who still seemed to be gaping. "Sinbad, this is Hakuren Ren. He is the second Imperial prince of the Kou Empire. Prince Hakuren, this is Sinbad, he is the president of the infamous Sindria trading company."

"The Kou Empire?" Ja'far turned to Sakura, shocked. No doubt wonder how she had any ties to them.

Hakuren bowed his head slightly towards Sinbad, "I've heard a lot about you, president Sinbad."

Sinbad appeared to come out of his state of shock-paralysis to respond to Hakuren, "It's an honor to meet you Prince Hakuren."

"Likewise. What brings you to the celebration?"

"Sinbad is a personal friend of mine and soon to be a diplomatic ally." Barbarossa said. Out of everyone who was swarming with questions for the pinkette, Barbarossa was the first to vocalize his. "And it would seem that you already know his partner, Sakura Haruno."

Hakuren looked at the pinkette, "Yes, she is too personal friend. We met in Kou when she was staying at the palace as a personal guest of my cousin's."

Sinbad and Ja'far's stares pinned her.

"So you were in Kou before?" asked Sinbad. He remembered Sakura brought up the Kou Empire before in their meeting with King Rashid and she had specifically stated that she had not ever been there before. The fact that she would lie about it made him skeptic. Sakura wouldn't have done that if she didn't have something to hide. And Sinbad had a feeling that this prince was a factor into her reason.

Sakura felt like her mouth had run dry. "Uh…yes, for a little while."

Giving a nervous laugh, Sakura rubbed the back of her neck. Sakura could feel all eyes on her at this latest development, she kept herself from squirming under the stares. She was surrounded, not knowing from which point she was going to be attacked with questions. Things could not have gotten any worse.

Or so she thought.

"Hakuren, so this is where you were."

Sakura's breath hitched, turning her head so quickly it was as if she wanted to get whiplash. Standing tall, dressed mostly in white as it was a symbol of royalty and high-born in Kou, was the man that Sakura had once barely tolerated until her last night in Kou when he had caught her off guard with a simple action that had her leave Kou in a hurry.

'Oh no, no, no, no….'

" _OH YES." Gaap cheered._

It was like she was living a nightmare, except she wasn't going to escape it by waking up. Now she was stuck between a rock, a hard place and a sword hanging over her head.

"Hakuyuu."

Sakura could barely pay any mind to her djinn's voices talking to one another.

" _You know the saying our king told us once? It's got to get ugly before it gets pretty?" asked Sitri_

" _Yes." Stolas replied._

" _Well I think she may have miscalculated because the situation went from ugly to horrifyingly gruesome."_

" _Maybe it will get gorgeous after this then." Suggested Gaap. "Assuming our king will make it out of this unscathed."_

" _Highly unlikely I'm afraid." Sighed Stolas._

" _Will you all stop!?" Beleth demanded._

Sakura; couldn't even give a response for she was took caught up in those navy blue eyes that Sakura thought she would never see again. Apparently in this world, 'never' was defined as 'in less than half a year'. His expression, which was usually unwavering had a tinge of surprise on it as he held his gaze. No number of metal vessels were going to get her out of this mess.

Now Sakura knew that she couldn't blame fate for her predicament, given that an interloper was supposedly unaffected by it-but it looked like karma didn't make exceptions for anyone in any world. Her luck was really something else.

Hakuyuu, recovered from his daze well enough to look to Barbarossa and greet him, "President Barbarossa; that was a very moving speech."

"Thank you prince Hakuyuu." Barbarossa replied with an effortless courtesy. "I had just introduced Prince Hakuren to Sinbad; the president of Sindria Trading Company. Although it would seem that you are already acquainted with his partner."

'Kill me now.' Sakura silently begged. At this point; she realized her prayers were in vain, but that didn't stop her from hoping.

"Yes, she was a personal guest at the palace for some time." Hakuyuu stated, looking at Sakura who wanted to avert her eyes yet at the same time make sure that Hakuyuu didn't say anything she didn't want anyone in the room to discover about her.

"So we've heard." Sinbad said, still holding his smile. Of course Sakura felt like he was mentally straining himself.

"I nearly forgot, Sakura was initially an employee of your company, president Sinbad." Hakuyuu addressed Sinbad with formal cutesy; that gave way to nothing genuine.

Sakura winced; she really wondered how she was going to get out of this unscathed. "Yes prince Hakuyuu; I had actually been working with Sindria trading company for a long while but when I came to Kou, I was currently on a short leave of absence."

Hakuyuu gave a small grin, his eyes sharp still. "I believe we're well passed honorifics are we not, Sakura?"

Sakura flinched when Hakuyuu said her name like that. She wished she could remember all of Serendine's lessons on behavior and putting on an act, but at this moment she had been tossed straight into the pyre and she didn't know how to get out before she turned to ash. The way she was addressing Sindria and her relationship to Sinbad insinuated nothing bordering beyond professional. She did not want to give any of these males a reason to create a scene because she was at risk of being at the center of it and she'd rather keep it contained. There was still so much to be revealed that would cause a problem. Aside from her relationship with the Kou Empire's future leader's; there was the 'courting' ordeal that either Hakuyuu or Hakuren could bring up. Even worse; they could bring up the official declaration meant to coax Sakura into marrying into the Kou Empire's royal family and becoming an empress consort-or how she had run away because of it.

There were many reasons for Sakura's stomach to be churning like there was a tornado inside of her. Already, she felt that she was on thin ice with Sinbad, which was slowly beginning to melt from the heat of Hakuyuu and Hakuren's presence. She honestly hadn't even considered the sliver of possibility that Gyokuen and Hakutoku would bring their children with them!

"If I may President Sinbad; could my brother and I borrow Sakura for a bit?"

'NO' Sakura mentally screamed.

Sinbad appeared ready to reply, much to Sakura's dismay however Barbarossa chimed in before he could say anything. "Actually Prince Hakuyuu, I'm afraid we were just about to leave. There are a few diplomatic matters that require our attention."

"Well then, would it be possible for Sakura to remain here while you attend to the matter President Sinbad?" Hakuyuu asked, undeterred by the news that they were going to leave. "See, there are some things I wish to discuss with Sakura as well."

'Oh no.' Sakura glanced at Barbarossa, silently urging him to get her out of this celebration hall. Whatever Hakuyuu wanted to discuss, she probably did not want to.

"It is urgent." Hakuyuu continued to insist.

Sakura really wanted to insist that it was not.

Barbarossa looked to Sinbad, "What do you think Sinbad? She is your partner."

Sinbad continued to smile, although his eyes were sharp and focused. "Well I did say earlier that this celebration is in your honor Barbarossa and it is a bit late tonight. We can delay until tomorrow. I couldn't leave my partner behind on this matter."

'DAMMIT SINBAD.' Sakura mentally screamed.

"Very well then; we should enjoy the rest of the evening then." Barbarossa said, looking back to his subordinates, ordering them to arrange a carriage to take them out first thing tomorrow morning.

When Sakura saw Sinbad and Hakuyuu looking at her again, she actually thought about flash stepping out of the celebration hall and onto a boat back to Balbadd.

Hakuren hooked his arm with Sakura's and started tugging her away, "Thank you President Sinbad."

"Yes, thank you." Hakuyuu said bowing his head slightly, his expression stoic as he turned around and walked along to the other side of the hall. Sakura; was now caught in between the two Kou princes. She glanced back at Sinbad and Ja'far. Sinbad was smiling but it didn't reach his eyes as he waved at her.

'I'm a dead girl walking.'

* * *

Hakuren and Hakuyuu continued to make their way through the crowd, she caught the stares of a few of the other guests-mainly females. As a former twelve year old girl whose priority was mainly boys, she knew she didn't misplace those giddy expressions and those fiery glares aimed right at her head waiting for it to spontaneously combust.

"You know, everyone really misses you. Hakuei and Hakuryuu didn't stop asking about you for a whole month." Hakuren said.

Sakura gave a soft, yet near pained snicker. "Oh really? I didn't think they'd remember me."

"Hakuei, Hakuryuu, Kouha and Kougyoku cried the entire day after they found out you had left the palace." Hakuren stated. "When they woke up and you weren't there, they looked for you and after they were told you left, they just sat and sobbed."

Sakura's face softened, she honestly didn't believe her departure was going to affect anyone that much. "Oh….and how are Koumei and Kouen?"

"Well Koumei's still Koumei." Hakuren shrugged.

Sakura knew exactly what he meant by that, he was by far the most simplistic of the Kou's royals she had met although he hid a certain brilliance which would only be discovered after spending time with him. He and Sakura would sit in his room for hours going through the scrolls and created this game where they would create a problematic scenario revolving around diplomatic, political or military concerns. They would come up with their own problems and the other would have to create their own solutions to solving it. Whatever scrolls they read was usually the basis of their game-which often turned into debates. The one who came up with the most solutions would win.

Which was usually Koumei.

"Why did you leave so suddenly Sakura?" Hakuren asked finally. "Kouen said you told him you had to leave and that was it."

Sakura glanced over to Hakuyuu, who was still keeping a passive expression on his face, his eyes head as they walked, lips in a thin balanced line above his chin, appearing completely indifferent. It didn't sound like he told anyone about what happened that night (which gave her a silent relief).

"Yes; there was an emergency in Sindria Company and I left to help."

Sakura reasoned in her mind that technically, she wasn't lying because she did leave to help Sinbad after Yunan told her he had been taken as a slave. Only her course changed after she had left the palace and was about to leave Kou with no particular destination in mind.

"You could've at least left a clearer message." Hakuren pouted, tugging lightly on her arm. "We were worried."

"Sorry." Sakura said sighing softly. "I really didn't think that any of you would have minded my absence. It's not like I was doing anything of importance there anyway."

Hakuyuu stopped walking, in turn making Sakura and Hakuren follow his example. Hakuyuu kept looking straight ahead as he spoke, addressing his brother. "Hakuren,"

The second imperial prince seemed to clearly understand his brother's vague message transmitted through the manner in which he said his name. He nodded, turning to Sakura.

"I hope I'll see you soon Sakura."

Sakura stood dumbfounded as Hakuren leaned down, hugging her with a secure hold that lasted longer than expected, the grip growing before releasing completely. Hakuren then kissed her on the cheek and stepped away towards the crowd, disappearing. And leaving her alone with Hakuyuu.

"Come with me."

Hakuyuu did not repeat himself, nor bother to check if Sakura was following him. Despite the amount of time Sakura had actually spent with Hakuyuu in Kou; she knew he wasn't as complex as he appeared to be. He didn't talk unnecessarily and he wasn't ambiguous-That was until that night. Which still made Sakura's heart stop whenever she thought about it.

* * *

The Kou prince led them outside, away from the crowds closer to the back of the building. There were no torches lit at the back of the building, the only source of light illuminated from inside, coming through the multiple windows.

Hakuyuu turned around, facing Sakura once more, starring at her silently.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, her tone dropping all forms of polite and meekness.

"Do I really have to waste my breath answering a question you already know the answer to?" Hakuyuu countered swiftly.

Closing her eyes briefly, Sakura responded. "Not really, I have a few ideas in why you wanted to speak with me but it would be nice for you to elaborate."

"Let's begin with what you just said to Hakuren then," Hakuyuu took a step forward and Sakura, one back. "You believe no one would've minded your absence? You presence was of no importance?"

"Hakuyuu…."

"Do you not realize that throughout your stay, you had the attention of nearly every member of the Kou's royal family? Kouen, Koumei, Kougyoku, Kouha, Hakuei, Hakuryuu, Hakuren, the empress, the emperor and **mine**."

"I came to the palace, it was what Kouen wanted. I was his guest and he allowed me to leave because I wasn't of anymore use to him-

"Kouen still thinks of you," Hakuyuu interjected. "He sits under the Poinciana tree nearly every day."

She didn't' want to hear that. She didn't want to hear that Kouen missed her.

"Kouha has asked for a tutor to teach him swordplay and Kougyoku has become more diligent in her studies, she had made the same request as Kouha, asking for a swordplay instructor. Hakuei is now aiming to conquer a dungeon someday. I'm not going to ask you who you think pit those ideas into their heads."

Sakura knew that these developments were on account of her. She had told the children about her adventures in the dungeons and they were always so captivated by them. Now it seemed that they wanted to grasp the experience for themselves. Although it was clear that Hakuyuu was undermining her for what she had said earlier to Hakuren.

With her fists and teeth clenched tightly, Sakura replied in a frustrated tone. "What do you want me to say? You want to know why I suddenly left? Why I didn't tell anyone but Kouen? Why-

"Why you departed the very night I kissed you."

Sakura's rant came to an end, giving a soft gasp and taking another step back. She looked at him with her eyes as wide as possible.

"Tell me now, tell me what you want-do not hold back." Hakuyuu said, demanding firmness.

Sakura's breath was shallow, she swallowed back the lump in her throat but it still felt stuck there. Her head hung low, her eyes fixed on the grounds that were near black. "I don't understand...why everyone had become so attached to me; why your father would consent to make me a empress consort and risk his line of succession, why your mother would go so far to make sure that I married you-or…" Sakura breathed deeply. Her head lifted, looking directly at Hakuyuu, there was no longer flecks of anxiety or guilt in them, nothing but pure determination. "Why you-why you would kiss me when all we were doing, was enduring a charade."

Hakuyuu did not leave Sakura in suspense for long. "The answer is simple Sakura and you should already know it."

Sakura held her breath, her mind tracking back to her memory of speaking with Gyokuen and what she said. Sakura started shaking her head. "It can't be true."

There was the slightest movement in Hakuyuu's expression, revolving around a frown. "I told you that I wanted to confirm my suspicions and when you spoke my name, I knew."

Hakuyuu came towards her and Sakura did not step back, standing firmly while she felt her heart beat rapidly.

"So what? Now you're going along with this declaration and want to take me as your wife?" Sakura chuckled humorlessly at the end.

"Are you laughing because you find the answer funny or because you do not know the answer?" Hakuyuu asked, his voice boarding on frustrations now.

Sakura stopped, seeing the serious expression on his face. "Hakuyuu-you can't be serious."

"I am."

"You can't be." Sakura argued back. She glanced towards the doors of the celebration hall, shifting her weight under her feet.

"Don't." Hakuyuu said firmly, it also made Sakura feel that if she ran this time, he was going to chase after her and he wouldn't care if it was straight into the hall, in front of that crowd.

"Why?" Sakura asked exasperated. "I am not some high born lady that is going to sit quietly beside her husband, sit quietly, behave meekly and keep her opinion to herself in front of company to spare her spouse embarrassment. I will fight. I am not what you will expect-

"That is not what I expect." Hakuyuu said firmly. His arms raised and he quickly reached out to hold Sakura by her shoulders.

"I'm not the kind of girl guy's fall in love with."

Sakura felt like she had shrunk under Hakuyuu's gaze, he appeared out of reach even though he wasn't. He carried himself with true pride and power that could waver the most fearsome of men and make them submit to him. Good thing for Sakura, she was not a man.

"I want you. It's as simple as that. Your abilities, the declaration from the emperor and my mother's schemes play no part in my decision."

" _Did that prince just propose?" Sitri asked_

" _I am not sure," Stolas admitted. "Doesn't it usually involve a question?"_

" _It sounded more like an expectation." Said Gaap "Proposals actually give chance to opinion and choice."_

" _Demand may be more fitting then." Beleth said._

"And if you are still confused…." Hakuyuu glanced at her lips for a moment before looking back into her eyes, "I can give you clarity."

Hakuyuu moved towards her and like before, Sakura went still like being bound to the floor by chakra. However as she felt the warm breeze brush across her lips, Sakura blinked rapidly, her hands flew forward pressed against the prince's chest. The manner in which she did it was not harsh nor supported with her full strength that would appear from reflex because Sakura was calm and aware of her actions completely.

Hakuyuu looked down on her for an explanation and while Sakura's eyes were fixed on her hands that were still pressing against his chest to keep the small distance between them, she knew that he was staring at her.

"Prince Hakuyuu stop." Her voice was strong as she spoke. "I cannot become your consort. I have already committed myself to Sinbad and Sindria Trading Company. To go to Kou with you would be an act of betrayal."

"Is it truly betrayal, when you claim commitment without validation or promise?" Hakuyuu asked and Sakura knew what he was implying. He knew.

Hakuyuu had known from the moment he saw her with Sinbad, that they were partners on intimate levels. They behaved aloof out in public, but he didn't need to see or hear it to know. However, he also had the intuition to tell that neither were out of the reach of other's-not so long as they showed no sign of promise to one another.

"It is to me. Even if Sinbad does not promise me anything, even if he chooses to forsake me. I will remain with him. I will do whatever is necessary for him to achieve all that he desires. I will not and do not expect nor need anything in return."

Both Sinbad and Sasuke's face came to Sakura's mind and immediately after, she felt tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. Soon, they were brushed away by Hakuyuu, his slim fingers lingered along her face, moving down to her chin before lifting her head. Their eyes met once again and Sakura spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Hakuyuu continued to stare at her, his thumb brushing along her cheek. "You have no reason to be; you fool."

But she did. Sakura knew the pain of caring about someone who did not share the same feelings. It was the worse experience and what's worse, it always lingered with you. And even then, when you truly loved that person, you would continue to love them even when they would not.

'And now I am doing it to him.'

For a moment, Sakura must have forgotten who this person in front of her was.

Stepping back, Hakuyuu looked down, flexing his fingers on his right hand and removing a ring. Pinched between his two fingers, he took Sakura's hand that laid slack at her side and dropped it into her glove covered palm.

Sakura gasped as she looked at the intricate design of the ring, there was an oval cut jade gem encased by a dragon made of gold that had a thick holding for the finger.

"Take it."

Hakuyuu's demand fell on deaf ears as Sakura stared at the ring in her hand; it didn't mix well with her worn out gloves, contrasting with its sharp appearance. Sakura shook her head, holding it out towards the prince, her hand visibly unsteady.

"I can't-

"You can." Hakuyuu stated. "I want you to hold onto this and when I become emperor of Kou, you can return it. Either have it in your hand or on this finger." Hakuyuu tapped the finger beside her pinky, the obvious implication caused Sakura to blush, yet she still wanted to deny it.

'There is no way he could want-

" _Let's call it a pre-engagement arrangement." Suggested Beleth, sounding exasperated. "All these boys…"_

" _Our king's a smooth operator." Gaap snickered_

'Shut up.'

Just like that night, Sakura had been paralyzed with shock, every muscle from under her skin was tense and would be hard to the touch. She heard Hakuyuu's soft footsteps against the stone ground.

"Until then, Sakura."

"Wait!"

Hakuyuu didn't get more than five steps before Sakura called out and when he turned, he was nearly caught completely off balance when slim arms wrapped around his torso and a comforting warmth settled in front of him. He did not say anything, only returned the gesture, resting his head on top of hers and placing his arms around her shoulders.

* * *

"Alright, then we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning to see the island." Barbarossa said to Sinbad and Ja'far as he rolled up the map. "I'm sorry we couldn't go sooner."

Sinbad shook his head, "No not at all, we'll get a better look in the daylight anyway."

Barbarossa sighed, "I was a bit surprised to see that Sakura was so familiar with the Kou's princes."

Sinbad and Ja'far glanced at each other; they were all clearly surprised by this but they weren't in the most appropriate position to question Sakura as they wanted.

"Well, I'll see you all tomorrow then." Barbarossa took his leave, with his attendants following behind him.

Ja'far looked back to Sinbad, "Do you want to go to the carriage while I find Sakura and tell her we're leaving?"

"No," Sinbad replied smiling. "You go on ahead, I'll get Sakura."

Ja'far cocked an eyebrow at him, he wasn't oblivious to his leader's jealous tantrums. "Sin; what are you-

"Nothing Ja'far." Sinbad assured, tapping his friend's shoulder. "You go ahead, I'm just going to get Sakura."

"Okay; just remember where we are right now."

With that Ja'far left and Sinbad started going in the opposite direction to the exit in search of the pinkette.

Initially it wasn't hard to find Sakura in a crowd, but after wandering around for several minutes and navigating his way amongst the dissipating number of people; Sinbad still couldn't find Sakura. However, he did see the prince Hakuren at a table, with a cool glass in his hand.

Sinbad approached him, "Prince Hakuren."

"Ah, president Sinbad." Hakuren grinned, his pale face was slightly flushed and his eyes were clouded. Obviously he might have had a glass and a half too much. "Would you care to join me?"

Sinbad held up his hand, maintaining his pleasant smile. "I'm afraid I have to decline, I was actually just looking for Sakura. We're about to depart."

"Well she and my brother have been gone for quite some time; I saw them leave out the back." Hakuyuu gestured to the large back doors leading out.

"Why would they need to go there?" Sinbad couldn't help but ask.

"Well if I know my brother, he is probably going to try and talk Sakura into coming back to Kou with him as his bride." Hakuren's current state of mind was making it harder for his thoughts to process logically, or he might have realized from the shocked expression on Sinbad's face that he should take back his words or at the very least stopped with that he said next.

"What?"

"Sakura and brother were technically courting and practically engaged before she left."

Sinbad didn't stay to hear anything more, his brisk footsteps on the tile floors made a noise every time he took a step but he paid no attention to them. He reached the open doors to the back of the celebration hall, stopping midway seeing the two figures illuminated by the dimmed light outside. Sinbad felt as if there was a hand reaching around his heart and squeezing it as he saw Sakura embracing Hakuyuu in silence.

Sinbad silently stepped away from the doors, further inside of the celebration hall. He couldn't hear the music coming from the musicians, nor the chatting that continued on a volume to topple other's but still remain discrete with their true intentions. He left the celebration, saw Ja'far standing in front of a carriage about to step in when he saw Sinbad coming his way.

Ja'far immediately noticed the expression on his face. "Sin?"

Sinbad walked passed him and the carriage, Ja'far heard him utter 'Valefor' before he transformed into his djinn equip and took off without a word or looking back. Ignoring Ja'far's calls for him.

"SIN"

* * *

Because of the status Sinbad had made as state guest in Parthevia, their lodgings were provided for and opulent. A well decorated room, pattern carpets, well carved and polished furniture that looked like it could withstand rain or fire and still look new and a large bed with too many plush pillows that would end up on the floor for taking up all of the leg room, there was also a small table set in the middle of the room with two chaise couches on opposing sides of one another. When Sakura had first arrived in the room, she had been in awe for but a moment, passing over her like the wind. After settling in and ready for bed, she waited for Sinbad to return.

Ja'far told her that he had flown off somewhere without a word and Sakura considered using her own djinn equip to look for him but Ja'far had talked her out of it.

" _It looked like he wanted to be left alone. I'm sure he'll come back soon."_

That was what he said and trusting the boy's intuition, they had left without him. However; Sakura drew that she would not go to sleep until Sinbad came back. So she sat at the foot of the bed and waited for him.

While doing this though, Sakura contemplated on the reason why Sinbad would have just stormed off in the way Ja'far described. Using his djinn equip to fly away-to get away. It left a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. After her run in with Hakuyuu and Hakuren; Sakura knew that Sinbad would want some answers regarding Kou. Yet with what had happened tonight, all Sakura wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep until day break.

She was also contemplating weather or not she should tell Sinbad about what happened with Hakuyuu or just spare themselves the drama and tell him they just got caught up talking about her days spent in Kou; there were enough actual stories to make it believable. Reminiscence is one of the greatest distractions after all.

Sakura looked at Hakuyuu's ring she was fiddling with in her hands, the candle light seemed to bounce right off of the jade gem. The frame was thick and Sakura was sure it would be loose on every finger aside from her thumb-not that she was planning to put it on.

'What is it with the men in this world?'

* * *

Two hours later and she was still sitting in the same position waiting on Sinbad's return. Although the wait didn't continue on for much longer after that when the door opened and Sinbad stepped into the room. Sakura immediately hopped off the bed; watching as Sinbad removed his metal vessels and placing them in a drawer before taking off his clothing. All the while keeping his back to Sakura. It felt like there were waves of dismal pushing off of him.

"Sinbad; is something wrong?" Sakura asked.

Throwing aside his shirt, Sinbad shuffled to the window, starring out. "You tell me, Sakura. Is something wrong?"

Sakura frowned, there was only one thing that she could think of that would have him like this. "Is this about the Kou prince's?"

Sinbad snickered humorlessly, "And if it was? Are you going to tell me I'm jealous for nothing again?"

"Well yes since you have nothing to worry about." Sakura responded, folding her arms, pausing briefly. "Is that why you just took off in you djinn equip? Because you were jealous?"

"In a manner of speaking; but tell me Sakura do I really have no reason to be jealous after coming to get you and then to see you and that Kou prince embracing one another?"

Sakura felt something in the pit of her stomach drop. "It was not what it looked like."

With a forced laugh, Sinbad slapped the window sill hard enough to make the windows rattle. "Oh, really? Because when I found prince Hakuren; he told me something very interesting. Apparently, while you were staying in Kou, you were courting prince Hakuyuu and supposedly engaged!?"

"Sinbad-

"Is that why you lied about never being in Kou?!" Sinbad turned around to face Sakura, his eyes glossed over with pain.

"W-Wait." Sakura held her hands, "That isn't it!"

"Then what is it Sakura!?"

"Okay, yes I did go to Kou and I did stay in the palace but that's only because I had no choice. I was being blackmailed. I met ones of the princes in the dungeon and he forced me to come back with him."

Sinbad held up his hand, "You're telling me that, you- a girl who can devastate an entire landscape and owns four metal vessels couldn't go against one-

"He stole the Looking glass-that mirror I always had on me. He threatened to destroy it if I didn't do what he said. There was nothing I could do." Sakura said quickly. "I was still trying to get home and if he destroyed it I….." Taking a deep breath Sakura continued, "And as for Hakuyuu and I courting, we were only pretending because we were both in the wrong place at the wrong time and if we were caught the consequences wouldn't be good. Then there was this declaration given out by the Kou emperor that said, if I chose to marry one of the Kou princes, I would be allowed to-I wasn't engaged to Hakuyuu."

"You both still seemed rather friendly outside tonight." Sinbad spoke with bitter words. "No colorful past huh? Well the color blue definitely seemed to be in yours."

Sakura grounded her teeth to keep from screaming at Sinbad. "Hakuyuu developed feelings for me and I didn't realize it until tonight. The night I left, he kissed me and I-

"He kissed you!?" Sinbad exclaimed, "He kissed you and you didn't realize he had feelings for you until tonight! How naïve are you!?"

"We weren't even really courting!" Sakura shot back, running a hand through her hair in complete frustration. "It wasn't a choice I made and neither was going to Kou in the first place. The looking glass transported me there and then I was forced to stay at the palace after."

"Why?" Sinbad asked. "Why were you being blackmailed?"

Sakura 's turned to the open window, acting as if taken in by the clear night sky when in fact her mind refused to wander from the room and her situation. "I can't tell you."

Clicking his tongue, Sinbad shook his head. "That line again. Looking Glass, Kou, those princes, and your home. You don't want to tell me anything!"

Sakura reached out towards Sinbad, only to have him recoil back. "You said you would wait."

"Am I supposed to wait until the truth gets tired of you hiding it and come out through someone else!?"

"You're being ridiculous." Sakura scoffed.

"You're being unfair!" Sinbad exclaimed, throwing his arm out. "You're still lying to me, you're hiding things from me and I'm expected to just keep on waiting?"

"You said we had time-

"How much time before another truth pops up and tries to propose to you?" Sinbad sneered, "I'm already not the first person you've loved-hell I'm still not even the 'only' person you love! I wanted to wait Sakura, but I don't' want you lying to me anymore."

The room snapped to silence, Sakura stepped back unable to take her eyes off of the devastating sight that was currently Sinbad. His arms at his side, firsts clenched tightly as he continued to stare with a shrinking intensity.

"Sakura; ever since I got you, I've been worried about losing you. You're unlike anyone I have ever met before and I'm not the only one who can see that. You told me that you don't want just half of me-well I don't want just half of you either. I want to know the truth and I want to know it now-or…" Sinbad stepped in front of the door.

"We're done."

Sakura didn't know she was crying until her tears became big enough to completely blur her vision and she didn't bother to wipe them away. It had been a long while since she felt this helpless; this particular kind of helplessness and desperateness to hold onto something slipping away. It was just like that night Sasuke left. "What do you want me to tell you?" Her voice soft, but begging for him to take back what he said, to tell her she didn't have to go through with this.

"What have you been hiding from me?"

….

….

….

….

….

…..

…..

…..

"I'm not from this world."

Sinbad blinked, "What?"

"You want the truth-here it is."

Sucking in a soft breath, Sakura looked up to Sinbad, her eyes and face blank. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I am a kunoichi, from the Hidden Leaf village. My teammates are Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and my sensei is-was Kakashi Hatake. I am-was the apprentice of the fifth Hokage, leader of our village Tsunade."

"Sakura, I don't-

Holding up her hand, she spoke. "Just listen."

Sakura gave Sinbad what he wanted. She told him everything that she had been keeping from him. Her village, where she had lived and trained to become a ninja. How one day she had come from a mission, returning to her village only to be taken from her world when she found the mirror known as the Looking Glass. The way the mirror shattered and how she had woken up in Beleth's dungeon, fighting her way through and conquering it. Told she was going to have to do keep doing this until she collected all of the shards of the mirror so that she could restore its power to take her back to her world. The Looking Glass belonged to a magi and the djinns that were summoned by the magi would have the shards on them. That was reason she was called Interloper-someone who was where she did not belong. It was the reason that Kouen had brought her to Kou after Gaap revealed the truth to him and Sakura had no choice because he threatened to destroy the Looking Glass. Sakura told Sinbad about the rules of the Looking Glass; how she would have to collect it straight from the dungeon or from a metal vessel user.

The last part gave clarity to a lot of things and all of a sudden, Sakura's behavior all these years, her abilities, her goal. The enigma that was Sakura Haruno-no longer existed this night.

"That's why…." Sinbad breathed softly, "You always left."

Sakura nodded, "If I get attached, I can't go back home because the Looking Glass won't work."

"Then what about back then, after Madaura. You said you couldn't go back."

Holding Sinbad's gaze, Sakura replied. "I was warned…."

" _The Looking Glass has a very particular type of magi, I told you before attachments were what anchored you to this world-if you do this you will be solidifying that belief and you may find yourself incapable of using the Looking Glass again-it's just a theory but if it should prove to be correct…"_

"But, you did it anyway. You always came back to me." Sinbad whispered, stepping towards Sakura but she stepped away from him, shaking her head.

"Don't come near me!" Sakura snapped. Clutching her head as images of the past flew across her face; the first day she was assigned to team seven, the introductions of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. Kakashi's bell test-which she would've failed if it hadn't been for Sasuke making the first move to break the rules for Naruto. Their first real mission to the Land of Waves. Learning to use chakra to climb trees. The Chunin exams-the written exam, Sasuke receiving the curse mark from Orochimaru. Naruto and Sasuke fighting one another. Sakura trying to stop Sasuke from leaving the village. Making Naruto promise to bring Sasuke back to her. Sakura promising Naruto she would no longer be dead weight.

" _My name is Sakura Haruno, what I like…I mean the person I like…"_

" _This time you'll have to watch me from the background."_

" _On that day, you taught me that solitude is painful. I understand that so well right now. I have family and I have friends but if you were gone Sasuke…to me, it will be the same as being alone."_

" _Naruto, this is a once in a life time request. Promise me, promise me you'll bring Sasuke back to me."_

" _I'm sorry Naruto. You might have to wait for me a little while but next time-I promise I won't be dead weight."_

"Sakura…."

"Don't you get it Sinbad; why I didn't want to tell you!?" Sakura's voice raised slightly at the end. "I will always have to bare the pain of knowing I abandoned my world for this one, but I did it because I want you. I want to be with you. I'm choosing my own selfish desires over my responsibilities."

Sakura threw her head to the back, tears streaming down her face, gathering at her chin and falling in big drops on the floor. "I had my path set; to do whatever it takes to get back home and then you came along and changed my whole direction! Now all I want is to be by your side!"

As if in pain, Sakura wrapped her arms around herself. "I chose you! Over my family, my friends, my promise, my morals, everything! I can't deny you-I'm weak!"

Sinbad swallowed, coming towards Sakura slowly as if he was approaching a wounded animal, in pain, unable to sense intent of those wishing to help them and willing to snap their jaws and snarl. "Come here."

Shaking her head Sakura continued to move back, whimpering softly with her eyes closed. She continued stepping away until her back hit the wall, ceasing all movement. Sakura's eyes snapped open, emerald met gold. Sakura could feel the gentle pressure of Sinbad's forehead against her own.

"You're not weak Sakura." Sinbad said, firm in his statement before his voice grew soft, boarding on hurt. "You've been carrying this burden on your shoulders for such a long time. You must've felt so alone. And I must have made it worse, by making you choose me all the time."

"You didn't make me do anything, I made the decision on my own." Sakura said, closing her eyes, taking comfort in her closeness with Sinbad. "That's the worst part."

"Sakura." Engulfing the pinkette in a tight embrace, Sinbad whispered softly in her ear. "I promise, I won't ever leave you alone. I won't only build a country to change the world, but to make a home for you as well and I will always be by your side. So let it go. Let it all go and just stay with me."

"But, but Sinbad; there's still so much…and what about Sasuke?"

"Sakura," Sinbad thought for a moment, wondering if he should tread lightly or not. "You love Sasuke don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you shouldn't be upset," Sinbad stated. "After all, you're not the one losing someone who loves you, he is."

"Sinbad."

"Just let go Sakura. Forget it all. Stop your pain."

Sakura sniffed, resting her head against Sinbad's shoulder and pulling him closer towards her. She would do it. She would set aside her burdens, her responsibilities and debts to her world and forget everything she was leaving behind and start a new with Sinbad. No more pain, no more conflictions, no more solitude and no more fear. She would let go of it all. She wouldn't look back to her past anymore. It would be like a dream-a dream she has been woken up from.

"Yes." Sakura whispered, smiling softly.

 **That's all for now everyone, hope you liked this chapter. Don't forget to review!**


	39. Dirty hands

**Hello readers, I know that it's been a while but I haven't been able to do much writing since I have been somewhat occupied during what was supposed to be my break but every night for the past two weeks I have taken the chance to write a little bit slowly but surely building into what has become a 40 page chapter so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ja'far wasn't usually the kind of guy to intervene in Sakura and Sinbad's intimate relations (given the last traumatizing surprise that occurred when he accidently entered that boundary) however he couldn't help noticing that the two had a certain content behavior, which he found a bit unsettling. It was like they were at peace-which wasn't something anyone believed to be possible when it came to Sinbad and Sakura. He didn't have a lot of time to question it because they left in a carriage that morning with Barbarossa to inspect an island which was also potential land for Sinbad's country.

* * *

At the end of a cliff out on the horizon, in a mountain region in Parthevia a few miles away from another city, connected to the land by two large bridges, extending in a crescent-like shape, with mountains, forest and hundreds of small buildings and houses crammed together; was the island.

"Well what do you think, it's a nice island isn't it?" Barbarossa asked the three awe struck friends.

It was like a wave of excitement washed over them as they stared down at the island. Sinbad in particular, was speechless.

"Shall we go in for a closer look?"

* * *

The Island was located a few hours North of Parthevia's Capital City; connected to mainland by two large bridges. The island's city flourished as a stopover point between Reim and Balbadd. However, after the outbreak of war with Reim it was abandoned. According to Barbarossa, the reason for this is because its structure had an unobstructed view and therefore did nothing to hide it from enemy sight.

The stone buildings were cracked and worn with most of the windows covered with wooden plank, but were not beyond repair with some maintenance. The docks were filled with boats, boxes and fishing equipment.

"The buildings and equipment left on the island are mostly as they were back then when this city was thriving. If there's anything useful here, you're welcome to it." Barbarossa said, waving his arm around to gesture.

Sinbad nearly tripped over his feet, snapped out of his awe struck daze. "Everything in the city? Not just the island?"

"That's a very generous offer, Lord Barbarossa." Sakura said, folding her arms as she surveyed around. Ja'far was already speaking on how it would be an advantage for them to use the port as it already was, the buildings could also be used after repairs.

"Well everything here has just been sitting and gathering dust since the war, better to put it to use." Barbarossa pointed, smiling at Sakura to which she returned, although her heart was not into it.

Sinbad noticed something while scanning a particular area, on higher ground of the city, there was a large building overlooking most of the city but they were different from the rest around the island. The walls were firm, with no cracks portraying long age. "It looks newer than the other buildings."

"Yes, that's a military research facility that was built more recently. It's already been abandoned. If you'd like to buy the island, we'll demolish it for you."

Sakura thought it strange; Barbarossa offering for them to take the entire island as is but to destroy only one building that might just need some cleaning out and less maintenance than the rest.

"Parthevia will be responsible for negotiating the fee for the island." Dairu said to them. "We couldn't ask for anything better than for you to use this place as a trade city. What do you think?"

Sakura and Ja'far kept quiet, both in unspoken agreement that the final decision would be up to the company leader.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Sinbad said, his voice trailing firmly. "Can't you imagine how wonderful it would be to make this place our country? We've finally found a place just for us…."

Sinbad threw his arm over Sakura's shoulders to pull her close, "Our very own….Kingdom of Sindria."

Sakura smiled, looking at Ja'far who smiled in turn. Sakura knew she wasn't the only one who had been waiting for this, others have for longer. "We have haven't we?"

"I'm thrilled you like it." Barbarossa turned to his subordinate. "Dairu."

Said person, produced a scroll from his bag and in that instant the euphoric fantasy came crashing as it mingled with the capitalist world that was reality. It appeared that Barbarossa was well prepared for them to agree to buy the island.

"On to business negotiations. The purchase price for the island comes to 10,000,000 dinars. Part of the cost includes the price of the land, but most of it covers the added value."

"Let me guess." Sakura stepped in, the only who appeared unsurprised by the price range for the island. Her lessons with Princess Serendine coming into practice on diplomacy with a mix of politics. It came along with Serendine telling Sakura that you must always know who is worth keeping by your side, regardless of personal preference and in that moment it becomes strictly business, often a trade where you need to decipher ahead of time the true value and price of something and whether it is truly worth it. "The island's operation as a trade city?"

"Yes, and the right to become independent territory."

"That's more than ten times what Sindria trading company makes in a year." Ja'far murmured to the two. "Even if we can pay for it in installments, it would take us at least 10 years to pay it off. That's a large sum."

Sinbad sighed, "I had prepared myself for this, but buying a country is still no easy feat."

Sakura folded her arms, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "That's true, but isn't it still worth it? After all we've got to remember the situation Parthevia is in as well. A ceasefire treaty creates its own expenses, so it's only natural that this land should make a profit. It's not fair if both sides of the party don't benefit right?"

"Yes," Barbarossa nodded. "You're rather well informed aren't you, Sakura?"

The pinkette shrugged, "No more than our company president."

"In addition to that, we hope that inviting Sindria Trading Company here will help to rebuild our economy. We would greatly value your support in our efforts."

Sakura walked over to Sinbad, whispering to him then. "You want to save this country too right? Well this is a way to do it."

Ja'far was handed a few scrolls, the drafts of the laws and regulations surrounding the establishment of a special administrative district.

"This will be reviewed by committee, and if they approve it at the next meeting it will become law. This is decided by all of our constituents." Dairu told them. "Parthevia is definitely facing a recession but despite that, our influence as a large country hasn't weakened. We can be a great source of strength for you. So please use your power to help save this country."

While Sakura appeared certain (well more than her comrades at least) Sinbad and Ja'far were still giving each other unsure glances.

"Well that's all there is to see for now." Barbarossa said.

"Where are we going now?" Sinbad asked.

Craning his neck to look back and over the armors collar, Barbarossa answered Sinbad. "Have you forgotten? Besides our governing body, there is one more important person in Parthevia."

* * *

Sakura, Sinbad and Ja'far was once again back in Parthevia's royal palace before the young king Ceylan. Barbarossa informed him of their negotiations with Sinbad to purchase the uninhabited island and the young king didn't seem to have any queries. He welcomed the news. Sakura observed the boy propped on the throne, the crown appeared ready to swallow his head.

"I was surprised. I never would've imagined that one of king Rashid's escorts was actually Sinbad, head of the Sindria trading company. I would welcome your trade activities here in Parthevia. Allow me to apologize for this country's past injustices towards you. I'll ensure your removal from our wanted list. Please feel free to visit our country without fear." Ceylan spoke with a smile on his face. Sakura wondered if that face was true or just for show. She had seen her fair share of children without families and she knew that it was a wound that sliced too deep to heal in time before it was opened again.

* * *

The meeting was brief, as the 'royal symbol' of Parthevia didn't actually have much to do other than hold face up front, while the rest worked in the background.

"That's good isn't it Sinbad?" Barbarossa said as he waked beside the three down the seemingly endless palace hallway. "Throughout Parthevia's history there hasn't been a case of a wanted criminal having his name expunged."

Sinbad appeared in thought, it was ironic really. Once a wanted criminal in his own country and now welcomed.

"It's good that Lord Ceylan is a wise person." Barbarossa said.

"Huh?" Sinbad cocked his head to the side.

"He obviously understands his own position."

Barbarossa went on to explain that Ceylan understood the country's present position and the treatment of the royal family. How he understood not to step his boundaries.

"We couldn't have asked for anyone better to fulfill the position as a symbolic 'king'. Until now, Parthevia's royal family has ruled solely with power-not backed by actual ability and without realizing they were leading this country to ruin."

Sakura grimaced; Serendine would be infuriated if she had heard such a thing-and probably cut down the person who said it. Parthevia's power resided solely with the royal family; that was until the former king's death and Serendine's disappearance.

'Good thing she isn't here-

Sakura's head snapped to Sinbad, his head was lowered, bangs hiding his eyes, but Sakura could tell that there was something wrong. It was a glimmer of a wave, barely there like the softest breeze, only it didn't sooth her. Barbarossa went on about how no other royal aside from Ceylan may have accepted the position that he currently held.

"Because setting up an autonomous nation is blasphemy to the royal family." Barbarossa finished. "Shall we go, there's more to discuss."

Sakura, Sinbad and Ja'far stayed a little ways behind, watching Barbarossa walk away with his attendants.

Ja'far let out a sigh, pulling a bit on his hood, "If Miss Serendine heard what he just said, she'd probably be angry…"

"Yeah…" Sakura trailed, glancing at Sinbad, he was now motionless. It didn't take much for Ja'far to notice their leader's strange behavior.

"Sin?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she saw Sinbad start to move, one hand landing on the sheath of his metal vessel and the other towards the hilt. Before she could step in, Ja'far put his hand on Sinbad's shoulder. The violet haired boy automatically craned his neck to look at Ja'far. "Sin, we're in the royal palace. I don't know what you are intending to do, but you don't need your metal vessel."

Sinbad looked at Ja'far as if he could see the word's coming from his mouth, but he couldn't really hear them. "Metal vessel? What was I…?"

Frowning, Sakura placed her hand on Sinbad's cheek tilting his head to meet his eyes. "Sinbad, are you okay?"

"Maybe he's just tired." Ja'far suggested skeptically.

There was something nagging Sakura in the back of her mind, tugging like a thread. Seemingly meaningless to continue pulling-until it untraveled everything. Despite this, Sakura chose not to cut it.

"Sinbad, I think you should rest. Come on." Sakura coaxed softly, rubbing Sinbad's face.

"Yeah…you're right. Can I get a massage?"

Sakura nodded "Whatever helps you sleep,"

* * *

Sakura had her face buried in the pillow, hiding the heat of her embarrassment under the bed sheets. The room was dimly lit with an oil lamp, but she was confident that a certain arrogant purple haired teenage boy would be able to see her as clear as day. Huffing, Sakura turned her head to the side when she felt a poke at the back of her head, looking at Sinbad who was leaning against the headrest, grinning.

"When I said whatever helps you sleep, this is not what I meant."

Sinbad beamed. "What else could you have meant?"

"Just a massage!" Sakura exclaimed, pulling the pillow closer to her chest. She was going to be sure to be more specific in the future.

"Well either way, I'm definitely relaxed."

"Pervert."

"Say's the girl who didn't reject the offer."

Groaning, Sakura buried herself back under the covers, she doubted that she would ever get use to Sinbad's smugness. She wondered if this was just because they were so young. It wasn't unusual in this world, but in hers…she erased the thought.

Feeling that things had suddenly fallen too silent, too soon, Sakura turned her head back up again. Sinbad had his knee up, still under the sheets, resting his elbow on it. His mouth pulled down, slightly crooked and by the look in his eyes, he didn't seem to be present in the room anymore.

"Sinbad?" Sakura tapped his arm. He looked at her.

"I was just thinking, it's strange. With this, we should be able to create our own country." Sinbad shuffled down to wrap his arm around Sakura, resting her head on his chest. "After all our struggles to get to this point, for it to become a reality. I conquered Baal, left Parthevia, founded my own trading company and started gathering funds to build a country, before I knew it three years passed."

Sakura threw her arm over Sinbad, smiling. "I know. It's a bit overwhelming to think about. When I think back over these years I've spent in this world, I still can't believe it sometimes. At first, being in this world, all alone, feeling true solitude it was like a nightmare that wouldn't end and now, it's a dream that I'm afraid to be woken up from."

"I'd be more than happy to keep this dream going on forever." Sinbad stated, pulling Sakura closer. He stared up at the ceiling. "I wonder what kind of country we'll create. I'd like to extend the harbor to accommodate more ships and to make our companies main branch more 'majestic.'"

Sakura snickered, drawing circles along Sinbad's chest. "I think you should be more worried about making a palace for yourself."

"Yes, you're right. A palace for us to live in" Sinbad watched as Sakura's face became flush once again, but she stayed in his arms. "I'll definitely create a good country…."

"A good country for a good king." Sakura said confidently, feeling Sinbad gently tug at the back of her hair. He wanted her to grow her hair out a bit like before, but she kept saying it was more convenient for her if it remained short, saved a lot of time-which neither got much of these days.

Sakura was content, her head resting on Sinbad's shoulder. Her eyes was closing and she was ready to nod off into a peaceful slumber when she felt vibrations against her skin. She looked to see Sinbad quivering-in her experience there were only typically two things that got him like this.

"I'm not going again!" Sakura warned, glaring at him now.

"It's not that!" Sinbad defended, honestly. "I'm just excited-

"Sinbad, we just-

"Not 'that' excited!" Sinbad raised his eyebrow, "Now who's the pervert?"

"Still you." Sakura deadpanned.

"I'm just thinking about the island. Every time I close my eyes I see it."

"You were supposed to rest. That's initially why we retired early." Sakura moaned tossing on her side so her back was facing Sinbad. "And I'm tired now too you know."

Just as quickly as she said it, Sakura wished she hadn't because she could sense the extra step Sinbad's enormous ego just took. Sinbad didn't try to prod her with that though because he wanted her on board with his idea.

"Let's just use our djinn equips for a quick fly out. We'll be back in time to get a few hours of sleep. Think of this as a second inspection."

Sakura grumbled, glaring at Sinbad while he smiled knowing he had her. "I hate you."

"Love you too."

* * *

With Baal and Beleth's fully body djinn equip, the two set off quietly out of Parthevia's royal palace. Arriving at the island within an hour. Sakura, who was still tired wasn't in a cheerful mood-least in comparison to Sinbad. He continued to try and hype her up during their flight by explaining that this was necessary since it was the location for their new country. Although Sakura commented she'd rather inspect the thread count on the sheets in bed until she fell asleep.

They landed near the harbor at the foot of the island, removing their djinn equip shortly after. Sinbad pointed out to the encasing, narrowing the harbor. "We should definitely clear that, don't you think? It'll make much more room for more ships."

Sakura rubbed her eyes, "That's a fantastic idea."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"No of course not." Sakura gave a half yawn before Sinbad poked her in her ribs. "Sinbad, it's late and I just realized, we can't see much in just the moonlight."

Walking without response, Sinbad bent down towards some rubble near the docks, clicking noises of wood was heard and then the ripping of fabric that ran up your spine. Sinbad looked back at Sakura with a cheeky grin, holding a stick with a thick wad of cloth wrapped at the top. "Think one of your djinns could give me some fire for this?"

"Smartass."

* * *

With a torch lit Sinbad and Sakura made their way from the harbor, heading towards the upper part of the island, going along the city streets. It was completely quiet, aside from the pair's soft footsteps against the hard ground and their soft breathing.

Looking along some of the empty houses, Sakura felt a chill the further along they went and the more she stared into the windows and doors that probably welcomed many residents who called it home, but now only welcomed complete darkness, with a promise of no warmth or comfort.

"Do you think this island is haunted?" Sinbad asked, his tone casual.

Sakura scoffed, turning her eyes away from him. "Of course not; don't go making up ghost stories just to try and freak me out."

"I wouldn't try to do such a thing." Sinbad mocked, cocking his eyebrow towards the pinkette as he watched her continue to avoid making eye contact with him. It was seldom that Sinbad had seen Sakura scared; she made a clear point that she did not enjoy snakes but other than that, there weren't any other phobias that Sakura had been known to have. Of course, he didn't mind prodding for a new discovery of the pinkette.

"But just imagine, what if there was a restless spirit roaming along this island. Chasing off all intruders."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Sinbad if you're trying to scare me, you're going to have to do a better job than that. Naruto always came to me with his conspiracy theories on ghosts because he was terrified of them."

As Sakura walked in front of Sinbad, the young man softened his footsteps, slowing them until they completely stopped. When Sakura could barely see anything she realized she must have walked too far from Sinbad. She turned around to tell him to pick up his pace, but when she did, he was no longer behind her.

Frowning, she started to scan the area, squinting her eyes. Something must have caught Sinbad's eye and he took off; he did have that case of wander lust-once it grabbed a hold of him, he was difficult to maintain and even his mind wandered.

"Sinbad, where are you?"

Sakura spotted the torch light flickering around the corner of a building and followed after. As she came around, expecting Sinbad, only to see the torch resting against the wall. Sinbad wasn't in the alley way where it had been left.

"AH." Sakura jumped, feeling suddenly brush of wind against her neck (which made her hairs stand on end). Her yelp was soon followed by choked snickers and she spun around, glaring at Sinbad who was holding his hand over his mouth.

"You idiot!"

"You told me to try harder!"

* * *

Sakura spent the rest of their stroll with her arms crossed, head turned and lips sealed, ignoring Sinbad whenever he attempted to grab her attention (and that was often.) Although the silent treatment didn't last very long.

Sinbad and Sakura came atop a high point of the island overlooking most of the city, leading to the harbor, a crescent moon in a star-filled sky, reflecting off the calm ocean, a soft breeze blowing across them, it was the perfect inducement for tranquility. It was as if their eyes were instantly set, unable to move from the scene before them and they didn't mind at all.

"This is a good island."

"It is." Sakura confirmed, taken in by the scenery. Sinbad shuffled closer to her, his hand touching her waist to get her attention.

"I've decided, I'll definitely buy this island and make it our home."

Sakura smiled softly. "Our home."

With the night still young and Sinbad's persistence, the pair continue to make their way across the island. Up a flight of worn stone stairs, further long the city roads. Sakura saw the research facility Barbarossa had mentioned.

There was a tugging at her, a pull drawing her towards the building. Sakura didn't know if it was pure curiosity or something else. Either way she wanted to quell this thirst before it went from uncomfortable to unbearable.

Sinbad didn't seem to be paying any particular attention to where they were going. In fact, he seemed far off from present. His eyes looking straight ahead into nothing.

Linking her arm with his, Sakura called his name. "Sinbad? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No, I was just thinking of my hometown, Tison Village. I wondered; if they knew I was building a country here in Parthevia, would they come and join it? If that happened I could see everyone again…"

With a gently smile, Sakura began to discretely tug Sinbad in the direction of the research facility. "I'm sure you could persuade them, you are very good at that."

Sinbad laughed, "Yeah, I mean I got you to stay with me right?"

* * *

It didn't take much coaxing for Sakura to nudge Sinbad in the direction of the research facility. A fence surrounded the building, a building which happened to be in far better shape than any of the others on the island. It was well-kept. It was nothing short of ominous to Sakura.

Sinbad stared up at the building. "Isn't this...?"

"The research facility Barbarossa mentioned." Sakura was already climbing over the fence, it didn't do much to keep out intruders, but it was obviously there as an informative that uninvited visitors were not welcomed.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura hopped off the end of the other side of the fence, "I want to get a closer look."

Sinbad raised an eyebrow, "What are you up to?"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura held out her hand for the torch, "You dragged me out of bed to explore the island. Let's explore."

Without further argument, Sinbad handed Sakura the torch and placed his hands on the top of the fence…

* * *

Sakura and Sinbad walked through the abandoned research facility, the entrance had been around the corner of the building, no latched doors, just a dark wide open space. They went in quietly and for a long while there was nothing but dark hallways, filled with cobwebs and dust as expected. A rat or two crawled alongside the walls when they were caught in the light of the torch's flames. The building itself appeared far from worthy of demolition.

"Isn't it strange?" Sakura asked, "Barbarossa didn't even give you a chance to decide whether or not you wanted to keep the building. He just said he'll demolish it."

"I guess, but I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Yeah, but what reason?" Sakura asked, pressing for Sinbad to find an answer on his own. "Why does he want to just destroy this building?"

"He did say that it was a military research facility, maybe it's not as safe as it appears." Sinbad shrugged.

"Then why didn't Barbarossa just say something like that? He didn't even give an explanation for wanting to destroy the building."

"Wait," Sinbad stopped walking, he looked at Sakura. He raised his chin, his mouth turning downward. "Sakura; what is this about?"

Sakura sighed, "I was just curious, something was nagging in the back of my mind about this place and I thought it might be worth a look."

Sinbad raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure that's the only reason?"

"Yes." Sakura stated, but something about Sinbad's question had formed a frown on her face. "Do you think I have some ulterior motive?"

"I did not say that. It's just that I know you're not fond of Barbarossa-did something happen?"

Sakura turned her head, away from Sinbad's gaze.

" _When I said that Parthevians were the most superior race, I meant that we are the most superior race, in 'this' world."_

"… _.Sinbad may be special but he seems unaware of just how special you are."_

"Sakura, what aren't you telling me?"

Sakura opened her mouth, she appeared ready to say something before closing her mouth again and then opening. "Okay, you're right. I don't like Barbarossa. He might be helping Parthevia to recover but he has done so at the expense of Serendine-my friend. I do not believe that he is a good person-of course I won't let my personal feelings towards Barbarossa jeopardize your chance at establishing your country. It's just-I'm skeptical, so when I thought something was off about the research facility I-

"Okay, okay. You don't have to explain anything else. I get it." Sinbad soothed, holding his hand up. Chuckling softly, Sinbad took the pinkette's hand, pulling her along the dark walkway. "Thank you for telling the truth."

Sakura was about to respond when she spotted something in the corner of the light, dimly light. The long hallway had come to another turn, into a door-less entrance, lying in the corner were several thick pipes coiled together, with a thick liquid pouring out with no smell to it.

"Sinbad." Sakura directed him to look at what she was seeing and he frowned.

"What is that?"

Without answering, the two quietly entered the opening, they didn't take more than two steps before coming to an abrupt halt. Taking in the sight before them.

There were more pipes, running along the ceilings and floors like veins under the flesh. With a single pipe leading to a large, glass cylindrical container, a tank, some were cracked, half broken or intact holding a clear liquid-which Sakura and Sinbad doubted was water. The lining continued on into the darkness of the room where the torch's light did not reach from its current distance.

Sakura swallowed as she peered at one of the large tanks, the contents of the tank was nearly indescribable, neither knew what it was. A twisted not of limbs-judging by the small foot they could see in the coil, as well as a head, upside down, mouth gaping wide open with no sign of teeth or tongue, the eye sockets were exposed, opened into a black abyss.

"W-What?" Sakura stared breathing heavily.

"Look." Sinbad swallowed hard, directing his torch passed the contents of the tank. There was something written at the base, a plaque nailed onto it. What she ready made her stomach churn.

"Aldo village. 6 year old male Kufar."

Sakura staggered back, nearly tripping over the pipes. "Y-You don't think…"

They stopped.

Stopped moving, stopped speaking, stopped breathing. So that their ears could hear it again. That heavy, gruff, grunt-like noise that couldn't' have come from them or any inanimate object in the building.

They heard it again-right behind them.

Trembling, slowly, painfully slow, they began to turn around, the flames creating a light to the dark end of that room, although not entirely, but they saw what the light had to offer. They saw bars-thick bars, the pipes leading all the way in from the ceiling and floor through the gaps between the bars. Behind the bars, shackled in huge chains, was a creature neither were prepared to stomach. Its eyes were black with white pupils, five of them on its forehead. Its face and body resembled an apes, only far larger, less constructed and natural, disfigured with a long face and black hair, teeth bared, showing off its large fangs.

Sinbad drew a fast breath, reaching for his sword, while Sakura made a fast move for her hairpin. But then they both stopped, as the creature opened its mouth and instead of a growl, roar, snarl or grunt. It spoke in their tongue and it wasn't so much the fact that the monster spoke, but rather what it said.

"Sinbad…." It said, holding onto the bars of the cage. "You really are Sinbad aren't you? Sinbad of Tison Village?"

Sinbad was stuck, halfway to drawing his sword, the words caught in his throat and probably blocking the bile that wanted to come up with them. "Yeah…"

"You've really grown. You look just like your parents." The creature told him, with familiarity that frightened both he and Sakura. "Welcome back, Sinbad."

Sakura unconsciously touched Sinbad's arm when the creature's eyes fell on her.

"Oh, who is this Sinbad? You have a women; you're all grown up now aren't you?"

Sinbad attempted to move the pinkette out of sight, shifting her behind him in vain and Sakura in her surprised state, wasn't able to do much other than gawk. "S-Sinbad, what's going on?"

"I-I don't know."

The creature chuckled, "It's not surprising you don't recognize me. I'm stuck in this body now." Holding a large hand cross its chest. "It's me. I was with you back in Tison village. I was the one who stayed with Esra during her final moments too."

Sinbad's eyes widened in realization, an image of a husky middle aged, plump women, with black hair and a warm smile took place in his mind.

"A-Auntie?" Sinbad asked, unsurely.

"That's right. I'm glad you remember!"

Sakura gasped, so this being that they had presumed to be a monster was actually a human being, if that was the truth then that lead to question what exactly was going on in this 'research facility.'?

"Bu-but how?" Sinbad asked, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Why are you in a place like this…and why do you look like this? What happened to you!?"

Sakura put her hands on Sinbad's shoulders in an attempt to calm him, but it had little effect.

"I was brought here. It happened a few years ago after you left Tison village."

Sinbad and Sakura listened quietly to the story, of how citizens from the Tison village were rounded up by soldiers. The 'unpatriotic' citizens who had committed treason against Parthevia. The Military had used this facility for experiments, using the people they had captured for their tests, turning humans into monsters.

"It was horrifying, person after person falling victim right before my eyes."

Sakura and Sinbad stepped back as they expanded their view of the cage, coming out of the darkness surrounding it were other creatures, similar to the one Sinbad referred to as aunty. Their forms similar to different types of animals-elephant, snake, horse, lion-there were too many to count.

"Y-You mean you were all human before?" Sakura swallowed.

"Yes, unfortunately I'm the only one that can still speak." She told Sakura. "See we are 'failed' experiments. We were fused with dungeon monsters but we were 'unsuccessful'. They are going to dispose of us, until then we are trapped here."

Thinking back to that day they had first met Judar, Sinbad and Sakura realized that what he told them about the purges in Parthevia and people being taken away and experimented on was the truth. Barbarossa had already admitted to the purge, although he said that they only took criminals…

'And undesirables' Sakura grimaced.

"Sinbad, you understand don't you? No matter what any of us do, those in this country that don't fit their standards are labelled as 'Unpatriotic citizens' and those of us who are labelled are eliminated." Clutching the bars tight and crying out towards the two teens on the other side. "Sinbad, please save us. If we stay here-we'll be killed!"

She continued to ramble on, desperately telling Sinbad about how she had heard about him, how he was successful in Reim, the head of the top trading company in the world and how that surely meant he had the power to do something to help them.

"Please save us! Sinbad!"

Time stopped, for Sinbad and Sakura, their fear washed away and replaced with something worse; indecision. They couldn't do what was requested directly, if they broke the bars and let all these people free, where would they go? What would become of them? They'd expect Sinbad and Sakura to continue to aid them and that would evidently destroy their relationship with Barbarossa and Parthevia. The island offer would be off the table and that wasn't even the worst of their worries. If word got out about these beings, the story of the experiments of 'undesirables could be spun either way. Innocent people forced to endure abuse of their rights or just sentences for criminals of the nation? Barbarossa clearly had a lot of influence-from the guest list at the celebration it was easy to see. This could spin out of control.

On the other hand, if they went directly to Barbarossa and told them of what they saw and petitioned for their release-what would happen then? Whether they win or lose that fight, Sinbad's relationship with Barbarossa would be damaged beyond repair-no, it wouldn't be damaged, it would be completely eradicated.

They wouldn't just be at risk of a setback; this could become so much more than that.

All of those thoughts ran through Sakura and Sinbad as they tried to work out a solution to their predicament. The weight of the situation was suffocating and so heavy, not even Sakura felt like she could lift it.

When Sakura looked to Sinbad, he was trembling, holding a hand up to his face, fingers spread, eye's wide, beads of sweat forming against his forehead. He himself must've realized all of this but knowing the consequences of making a decision, in this case, didn't make it easier for him to decide. It was like standing still with a blade ready to fall across your neck and you could move one way or the other but once you did, there was no going back-and if you remained…

"Sinbad! I'm begging you. Save us!" The bars rattled under the pressure of being shaken, as was desperation and hope-the hope that came in the form of Sinbad. "Please don't abandon us! You're the only hope we have left!"

Sinbad looked down, muttering quickly, so fast that it was like he didn't intend to mouth any of them. They were thoughts, overwhelmed and spilling without permission and only Sakura could hear them clearly as she leaned closer towards him.

"I-I've come so far…I…what must I do? What must I do?"

Clutching his head tightly, Sinbad heard the voices, many of them overlapping with images running across his mind, blinding his reality.

" _Our own country…the Kingdom of Sindria."_

" _They going to dispose of us."_

" _I want to save this country with everyone's help."_

" _Sinbad is not fit to be king!"_

" _I'll create a country to help change the world!"_

" _It seems like we really can become good friends."_

" _Do what you need to do. You found it didn't you?"_

 _Then he saw Ja'far, standing in front of him with blank eyes. "Think about that dream Sinbad, that dream that reeled all of us in, towards you. Are you honestly going to give that up just because you got your hands dirty?"_

'That's right.' Sinbad thought, 'We're already…

Swiftly grabbing her wrist, tight, as if intending to bruise, Sinbad dragged Sakura away from the cage, out of the room and out of the building without uttering a single word. They could hear the women from Sinbad's village calling out to them, begging them to come back, asking where they were going, rambling turned to raving, the cage rattling while the other experiments who had lost their ability to speak, let out screeches, grunts and growls of their own. Crying out like wild animals caught in a hunters trap and on the verge of death.

* * *

"Sinbad-stop!"

No matter how loud Sakura called out to him, over all of the noise, all of the chaos. Sinbad did not acknowledge her, until she attempted to tear herself free from his grasp and he tightened his hold, making her wince. Sakura felt like it wasn't going to matter if she used her strength to stop him. He'd likely just grab her again until he got her where he wanted her.

This whole situation had gotten to him and for now, the best decision might be to go along until she was given the chance to speak with him. Sinbad continued to drag her, along the dark hallway, further from the room, until they were standing outside at the entrance of the research facility.

Sinbad stopped, releasing Sakura's wrist. The pinkette immediately rubbed the aching limb, she was not the only one who underestimated their strength at times.

"What the hell Sinbad?"

He didn't respond, Sinbad kept his back facing her but Sakura was determined for answers and continued to persist.

"Sinbad."

Again he was silent.

"Sinbad, I know that this situation has you in a difficult position but you can't just stand their quietly. Say something."

This time, Sinbad did respond-but with a question Sakura did not expect.

"Do you love me?"

Sakura frowned, "What are you-

"Do you love me?" Sinbad's tone for the question harshened, pressing for the answer, sending a message that he wouldn't stop until she answered him.

Sakura continued to rub her wrist, raising her eyebrow. "Of course I do. Sinbad why are you-

"Transform into your djinn equip."

Sakura stumbled back, eyes widening before narrowing once again. "Sinbad-

He turned around, eyes blazing and the rukh fluttering wildly around him; his face indifferent.

"Transform now Sakura."

The pinkette frowned, watching Sinbad cautiously, like waiting for a paper bomb to go off. However, Sinbad knew that Sakura being as stubborn as she was wouldn't just take off without an explanation especially with what was happening.

"Sakura; we're going to transform into our djinn equips, fly back to our room and never mention what happened here tonight."

Sakura stepped back, gasping softly, realizing what Sinbad was intending to do and she couldn't stop herself for speaking. "Sinbad, are you actually saying you plan to-

"And no questions either." He cut in, clenching his fists tightly at his side.

"Sin-

"No questions." Sinbad said, firm, hissing softly at the end. His muscles were tense beneath the skin, unable to relax. Sakura was ready to open her mouth, ready to argue and Sinbad knew she was ready to fight, but Sinbad wouldn't have that. Not this time.

"You can't tell me you're willing to abandon those people. Sinbad, some of them are from your village. They might look like that but they were human."

"Exactly. They **were** human but they aren't anymore; if we freed them where would they go? This world won't accept them as they are right now and you know what it will cost if Parthevia finds out we were the ones to help them. Sindria trading would go up in flames, along with its goal, my goal and yours."

Sakura bit her bottom lip, drawing blood, her eyes glaring strongly. Her shoulder's trembled, her mind working to finding another solution to this problem, another way to do this. Perhaps being outside, away from the poor failed experiments, suffocating lab and choking air would help her think more clearly, but there was no differ in results than when she was inside the research facility standing in front of that cage.

There was no solution.

There was only one way; but it was one that would lead them away from the light and into darkness. Hiding everything they didn't want the rest of the world to see.

"I do understand all of that." Sakura admitted, the pit of her stomach twisting into a painful knot, getting tighter.

Sinbad walked towards Sakura, placing his hands on her shoulders, what was once a gesture of comfort seemed to be used now to keep her in place. "You said you love me, you said that you chose your own selfish desires over everything else. So tell me; do you want me?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, clenching her teeth as she answered. Truthfully yet painfully. "Yes, I want you."

"Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes."

"Will you deny me?"

She knew what Sinbad was doing; he wasn't asking a question, he was requesting a promise charade as a question. And there was only one answer she could give to that question but she knew that it was going to come at a price. One of equal value to the consequences she had experienced before with the slave rebellion.

"Why are you asking me this?" Sakura asked, not for an answer but to stall for time. In the futility of finding an alternate solution and plant a seed of hope that wouldn't breed eternal misery.

"Our hands are already dirty, there is nothing we can do to remedy that. Saving one life wont' bring back one that's been taken. All we can do is keeping moving forward even if we have to bath in the dark we keeping moving. Eyes straight ahead, towards the goal." Sakura didn't flinch when she felt Sinbad's fingers clutch into her skin.

"That's what I decided, that is the sin that I am willing to carry, now it's up to you to choose; to make you decision and you should know this. You're either behind me, beside me or in my way; so I'm going to ask you again Sakura…."

When he didn't continue, Sakura's eyes met his and she realized that he was waiting for her to look at him again.

"Will you deny me?"

Sakura didn't try to hopelessly stall or flinch in her answer because what she said next was the truth.

The cold, hard, painful truth.

"No."

Her voice was soft, but hard in truth and confirmation, erasing all doubt though laced with disdain now. Sinbad visibly relaxed; he started to rub Sakura's shoulders, attempting to sooth her tense form.

"Let's go."

* * *

"You want to buy the island?"

"Yes, please allow me to purchase it."

"Wouldn't you rather return to your company to discuss things…?"

"There's no need, we'd come to the same decision."

Barbarossa sat at his desk, set neatly with an appropriate amount of scrolls littered across it to make him appear to be a busy man but not in any way disorganized. His two attendants stood beside his desk while, Sinbad, Ja'far and Sakura stood on the side of his desk, addressing him. Sinbad had arrived early that morning for a meeting with Barbarossa, ready to discuss the details for buying the island.

Ja'far gave Barbarossa, his and Sakura's preliminary calculations they had put together that morning; it had been rather rushed and extremely early that morning but Ja'far had worked on it some the night before, believing he had more time to finish them off when Sinbad arrived at his rooms door, telling him that he was going to buy the island. He didn't even have much of a chance to get angry with Sinbad because of the short deadline.

According to those calculations, even if they made allowances to repay the money the company would owe, they would be able to create enough business to net an enormous profit.

"This is such a huge opportunity for us. I have no objections." Ja'far stated, rolling up the scroll in his hands.

"Offer's like these don't come along every day." Sakura pointed out, smiling. "The island's location is excellent and works to our advantage in trade. The existing city will save time with renovations and expenses; we don't need to start from scratch-which would probably be the case with any other offer we got for land."

Barbarossa glanced between the three, holding up his hands. "If that's the case then I gladly accept but….if I may-Sinbad, Sakura you both look terrible."

Although it was too obvious not to be noticed, no one else in the room dared to comment on Sinbad or Sakura's appearances, with the dark lines of exhaustion under their eyes, the way their skin seemed to have become a sickly pale tone, their lips dried and cracked; giving many ways to describe the two in this moment but Barbarossa had summarized their appearance perfectly in a single word.

Sinbad gave a weary smile, giving a dry chuckle. "Do we?"

Clenching his open hand on the desk, Barbarossa continued to watch the pair with an unchanging expression. "The truth is…last night I received a report that you both had been spotted mid-air above the island."

Sinbad and Sakura remained indifferent, while Ja'far-who hadn't heard about their little night-time excursion berated them for doing something like that without permission.

"I don't mind. Just worried" Barbarossa chimed, "After all, that place hasn't been properly cleansed yet."

Sakura remained rigid, her muscles clenched in order to avoid trembling like a leaf trying to hold onto its branch in autumn. Sinbad made no move of reaction either, his inner turmoil remaining sealed shut to keep from reaching the surface.

"Did you…see something there?"

Sinbad responded with little hesitance, "No there wasn't anything to see."

Sakura swallowed softly, reaching out to hold Sinbad's arm as a sign of aesthetic affection. "Just a view that stole our hearts."

* * *

Something was off. Ja'far knew it from the moment he saw Sakura and Sinbad at the beginning of the day, but he didn't have the chance to bring it up because of the last minute work he had to do, however after the conversation with Barbarossa, he was concerned. The two were walking quietly beside one another, their hands connected but Ja'far hadn't seen the two make eye contact once today, nor did they start a discussion which would usually turn itself into an argument. They were too quiet.

"Why didn't you tell me you went to the island last night?" Ja'far asked as the three walked across the palace halls.

"I was restless last night and wanted to take another look at the island." Sinbad answered, "Sakura and I just had a quick fly over before heading back."

Sakura smiled, there was a painful twist in her stomach and her throat muscles were contracted, at least she knew she knew she wouldn't throw up with her stomach empty. She felt like anything she ate would come up before it could digest anyway.

"Are you two, really alright? You didn't see anything on the island?" Ja'far asked, worried.

Sinbad tilted his head to the side, "We're fine Ja'far, just a little tired-before we left last night we kinda-

Ja'far held up his hand, grimacing. "I don't want to hear it!"

"Anyway Ja'far, you can head back without us. We'll follow in a little while." Sinbad said.

Ja'far looked to Sakura, for the answers that Sinbad wouldn't offer him, but he saw that same painted smile on her face, he had seen it that morning and in Barbarossa's office. She wasn't going to say anything.

"I understand."

When Ja'far was completely out of sight, Sinbad lurched forward, dry-heaving. Unlike Sakura, he managed to stomach breakfast that morning, unfortunately it seemed to have been in vain as the contents spilled on the clear tiled floors. Sakura continued to keep her hold on Sinbad, rubbing his back as he wiped his mouth.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes." He responded, in a manner that sounded with the intention of an attack. "Because with this, we'll finally be able to make our dream a reality. I'll do whatever I have to do to make it happen. I'll keep pushing forward, no matter how soiled my hands become."

Sakura breathed out, "And I'll do the same-by your side."

"By my side." Sinbad stood up straight, taking Sakura's hand in his. "Because this is our destiny."

* * *

Sindria Trading Company completed finalizing their alliance with Parthevia, beginning preparations to gain their independence as a special administrative district of Parthevia. A few of the specialized employees were invited to see the island that was soon to be their new country; mainly the representatives of the international alliance. Everyone became swept up in their own excitement as they explored the island. Sinbad and Sakura were along with the crowd but they had separated to reach on specific location.

The area where the research facility once stood only a few nights ago was now cleared, there was nothing but a blank plot of land in its place. Sakura and Sinbad stood on higher ground overlooking it. The image of the building still engraved in their minds.

"How is it? We've disposed of everything as you wished."

"Thank you. Now we can create our country here."

Sinbad and Sakura continued to stare at the area, as if they were waiting for the building to appear again, along with its experiments, the wails and cries that they ignored. The burden that they would carry with them always.

'We're going to stand in the dark together.'

'This is our sin.'

* * *

Sindria trading Company moved towards its goal of building a country; it became clear that there were no easy paths. The company headquarters was filled with fast footsteps, a mix of many voices which made it impossible to hear any conversation from afar; all of this beginning in the early morning nearly before the sun was up and ending long after it had set. Although the circumstances in the company's massive change in work production was expected, but the degree of it was still surprising. Although everyone knew what needed to be done in order for the company to reach its goal and no one really complained, especially under the company leader's influence. Representatives of the company were sent to visit their countries to update their allies on Sinbad's current status and to ensure their cooperation throughout the process.

Sinbad had been working especially hard; as the company leader it was nothing unexpected. Although there were those who knew Sinbad well enough to tell that he had been working too hard; despite his fatigue he rarely stopped working and the only one to know the reason behind his sudden development in work ethic was his partner-who had also taken to working longer and harder than ever before. The stress and strain of work was taken like a cure to the haunting memories and raging guilt that Sakura and Sinbad endured.

Sakura's department had an increase in supply and demand since the first launch of a few samples of her products. She created food pills that relieved hunger and would keep you full longer than the duration of regular food (which was good for places experiencing famine), tea for fatigue, remedy for aches and pains that would work instantaneously, she also started to work on antidotes for what was once 'incurable' poisons (with references from Serendine). The only problem was that production was slow because Sakura was the only one making the merchandise. Even when she used shadow clones but that technique wasn't easy; she couldn't make more than five if she wanted to sustain them long enough to get the job done.

Breathing softly, Sakura put down her quill after finishing the last of her reports for the afternoon. She had to fill several large orders that day and she had to write up the reports for it and everything had to be precise, in reality and on paper.

'Finished.' Sakura thought, rubbing her shoulder.

" _That boy is working you too hard my king," Beleth told her._

'It's fine Beleth.' Sakura assured. 'It's not like Sinbad's in any better shape than me.'

Although Sakura understood why Sinbad was working so hard; as a medic, she knew that this was not healthy. Sinbad did not have the same stamina as herself but he was stubborn and had been avoiding sleep. They may not have been able to sleep as well at night but it was a necessity that they couldn't go without-at least not at the pace Sinbad was going.

Gathering all of the scrolls in her arms, Sakura left the room, heading in the direction of Sinbad's office. In the halls, she spotted Ja'far and Mystras heading in the opposite direction as her, crossing her path and they stopped to greet her.

"Hey Sakura." Mystras waved.

Ja'far stared at the stack of scrolls in her arms. "On your way to see Sinbad?"

Sakura nodded stiffly, explaining she had to get the documents to him and was on a bit of a deadline. Nothing could be shipped out until Sinbad signed everything to approve them and he wanted the products delivered today so that they would reach the market on time.

"While you're there, do you think you could tell Sinbad to take a break?" asked Ja'far, crossing his arms. "He's been working way too hard and I'm worried he'll collapse."

Sakura raised her eyebrow, scrutinizing Ja'far and Mystras's appearance. The dark lines under their eyes from utter exhaustion and long nights of work. "When was the last time the two of you looked in a mirror? Your reflections will probably scream back at you 'You're killing us. Get some sleep already!'"

Mystras rubbed the back of his neck, admitting that Sinbad had just told them the same thing when they tried to convince him to rest a bit.

"It's not just us," Ja'far pointed at Sakura. "You haven't slept in a week!"

"I'm fine." Sakura huffed. "Don't worry, I'll talk to Sinbad-if the two of you head to your rooms right now to get some sleep."

"Fine."

"Okay." Mystras agreed.

* * *

Down the hall, only a few feet away from Sinbad's office door, Sakura heard two voices bickering on the other side. One she knew was Sinbad's and the other Serendine's. Since their negotiations with Parthevia were officiated; Serendine had distanced herself from the rest of the company, including Sakura. The increase in schedule activities for the day had kept Sakura from taking lessons from Serendine as often as she would've wanted, but she noticed the princess had been behaving far more aloof than before with her. Sakura didn't bring up business during these sessions just to keep the tension from rising.

Keeping her presence unknown, Sakura moved towards the end of the door and stopped. Leaning against the walls, taking in shallow breaths.

"Stop your plans to found a kingdom right now."

Sakura placed the voice as Serendine's; she would be the only one to make such a declaration.

"You're being deceived by Barbarossa. That man cannot be trusted." Serendine stated and then she said something that set Sinbad off. "You should know what that man is doing is…

Sakura flinched when she heard a single knock against a piece of wood and the scraping of a chairs legs against the floors and then Sinbad spoke.

"Enough." Serendine fell silent.

"I've already made my decision. It has nothing to do with you." Sinbad stated, his tone firm. He said that this wasn't just a verbal promise anymore but an international contract. "It's not something based only one what Barbarossa says. Founding this kingdom is a matter that's already set in stone."

There was a brief moment of silence; Sinbad having said his part could only mean that Serendine was pondering her comeback. When she gave it, Sakura felt her heart stop.

"Then…what happened to marrying me?" Serendine asked, her voice light in tone but heavy in desperation and strained as if it was painful to speak. This was her last move to play. "I'll make you into a famous revolutionary. The blood in my veins can help you achieve all your goals. I thought you understood all that when we were in Zepar's dungeon. You don't come from a royal bloodline. Without that, you can't create a lasting country!"

"Could you be quiet for a minute?"

Sakura's fingers pressed against the wall twitched when Serendine's voice rose at the end. Then she heard Sinbad's voice, it was cold but also on the edge of losing whatever composure he had.

"Isn't that just your opinion? We have a mountain of work to accomplish so I can't worry about that any longer….It's true that I don't have the right 'blood' but Barbarossa and his party taught me that it's possible to lead a country even if you're not royalty. I don't need royal blood to create a country. In fact it's because they're not royalty that I realized you can create a government by the people and for the people."

Sinbad took a paused, his voice calm but it was straining. "I'm making my world a reality now. So please don't get my way."

" _You're either behind me, by my side or in my way…."_

Sakura bit her bottom life, reeling her head back to rest against the wall, her eyes shut tightly and still trying to close further, she felt her lungs burning as she struggled to breath.

"You can' Sinbad! That's what he wants!" Serendine's voice rose again, agitated. "That man is just manipulating you for his own benefit! OPEN YOUR EYES SINBAD."

"SHUT UP."

The pinkette heard the shuffling of scrolls falling on the ground and a loud gasp from Serendine.

"This is a decision I've chosen for myself! Not because I was told to do so by anyone else!" Sinbad panted softly. "If it's so important, do it yourself! My goal is to correct the injustices of this world, not take back Parthevia. I have to keep moving forward. If you want to take revenge, you're going to have to get it on your own."

When the footsteps grew closer to the exit and entrance of the office; Sakura swiftly took her leave. Her feet light, like feathers brushing up against the wood, not making a sound as she ran across the hallways.

* * *

Sinbad stomped out of his office, leaving Serendine standing there alone, starring at the ground. Just as he stepped out, he stopped for only a moment; giving his final words to the princess.

"Do not bring up getting married again. You and I both know there's only one person we want to be with."

Serendine gasped turning around just in time to see Sinbad's form disappear around the corner. When had he…?

"You think I didn't notice? It's easy when you're in love to see when someone else is. But you should change your preference to one that isn't already taken." Sinbad raised his voice, just loud enough to reach Serendine's ears from her location before everything went silent once again. She listened as his footsteps vanished.

* * *

Judar leaned against the wall, his hand behind his back. Peering around the corner to see Sinbad walking down the hall in the opposite direction of his hiding place, he knew that Sakura had already run off and Serendine remained in the office.

Smirking, he looked at the window, towards the cloudless sky. "Things are really getting interesting now."

* * *

Sakura made it back to the lab and closed the door before returning to the desk, dropping the scrolls before falling into her chair, heaving deep breaths. She clutched the end of the armrests tightly, keeping the terrible stirring in her stomach at bay. After a few minutes, her breathing regulated and she no longer felt herself wanting to throw up her lunch.

'It's okay; it's fine; this is fine.' She told herself. 'I made this choice, I will get through this. This is for Sinbad. For us. For the dream…We're so close…so-

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as the door behind her creaked out and Sinbad entered. He appeared completely calm, despite the fatigue, but there were waves of frustration rolling off of him from what Sakura could tell (and from what she had heard only a few minutes ago).

"Sinbad." Sakura stood up from her seat. "What are you doing here?"

Wordless, Sinbad walked toward the pinkette, while she continued to step back until she hit the edge of the table, gripping it from behind her. She called his name again, but it was as if her voice couldn't reach him now.

Touching her cheek, Sinbad leaned forward, passionately capturing her lips with his and wrapping himself around her. In a snake-like coil.

"Sin-Sinbad?" Sakura gasped, pulling away, placing her hands on his shoulders to keep him at bay as she felt him push forward. "W-What are you doing?"

"It should be obvious." He replied blankly, leaning into her neck, earning another gasp from Sakura as she felt a gentle pull on her skin; while the strap of her top was being slid down her shoulder.

"You still have work-the reports are done I was just about to bring them-

"Forget about the reports. We can deal with them tomorrow."

"But you said you wanted to get them verified for shipping-

"Sakura."

Sinbad pulled back, only to rest his head on Sakura's shoulders. Breathing in her scent, it was earthy from all the herbs and stung his nose along with a hint of sweat from the hard day's work, but it didn't make Sinbad pull away.

Sakura slipped her hands under Sinbad's arms, "You know, you've been overworking lately. How about I help you finish up your work and then you can go and rest?"

"Mmm." Sinbad replied, his hands trailing along Sakura's exposed waist.

"Sinbad; you need to rest." Sakura pushed Sinbad back carefully, starring into his tired eyes. "Please."

Grasping her forearm; Sinbad slowly started to lead Sakura towards the door. When the door was ajar she asked, "Where are we going?"

"To get some rest." Sinbad stated, opening the door completely and pulling Sakura out of the room.

"Sinbad…" Sakura called out to the boy walking only two steps in front of her.

"Sakura; please."

The pinkette didn't say anything else, only allowing Sinbad to lead her back to their room. Where they were both able to exhaust themselves and fall into a restless but much needed slumber.

* * *

Things hardly settled in Sindria trading, although it hadn't taken too long for those closer to their leader to see the change in transition between him and Serendine. Their interactions with one another were scarce, hardly ever seen in the same room together, no friendly greetings or acknowledgments. In the company's current condition, it was easy to overlook these small details as opposed to the larger ones blocking them out, but people like Ja'far were far more intuitive and able to look passed what was right in front of them. He asked Sakura about it; but actually knowing the truth behind, the pinkette pretended to be completely oblivious, insinuating that the only probable cause was due to Sindria officially being allied to Parthevia. That got Ja'far off the trail and he wouldn't ask Sinbad about it.

Sinbad wasn't the only person who Serendine had begun excluding in her daily routines. She had made and build on excuses as time passed, to keep from meeting Sakura for their lessons. Sakura was already very busy and hardly had any free time in her day, but she always made space for Serendine. Now those blank spaces that the princess refused to fill in, Sakura had filled with more work. Now Sakura and Serendine were as close as strangers could ever be.

When Sinbad, Ja'far and Sakura were walking through a quiet walkway, their voices bouncing around. Serendine was coming down on the opposite end of the room, she made no sign of acknowledgement to their presence as she strolled passed them. Neither, Sinbad, Sakura or Serendine dared to steal a glance at the other and thus passed as you would someone on the street.

Ja'far peered slightly over his shoulder, watching Serendine step out of sight before turning back to Sakura and Sinbad who were going about their business and he decided to do the same.

"If we're looking at this much monthly, we should be fine." Ja'far said as he walked alongside Sinbad and Sakura.

"That's going to take a lot of inventory," Sakura pointed out. "I don't know if I can meet this demand at the rate I'm going."

"I told you, if you train more employees to assist you-

Sakura cut Sinbad off, "That's going to take up a lot of time Sinbad. I'll have to come up with a test and-

"Ja'far, Sakura, Sinbad!"

The three stopped and turned around to their caller and saw Vittel, walking in quick but silent footsteps towards them.

"What's going on Vittel?" asked Ja'far.

"Sorry, but…." Vittel hesitated, the hold of the scrolls in his arms tightened. "We have a guest."

Sinbad sighed, "Again? Can't you handle visitors right just-

"It's no ordinary guest!" Vittel spoke rushed. "It's that royal Parthevia mage; Falan."

* * *

Hearing the name of a person, who had attempted to kill you in the past was not something to make the highlight of your day and neither was hearing that said person was requesting an audience with you. It didn't sit well in your head and this was no exception for Sinbad and Sakura as they went to go and greet their 'guest' along with Ja'far, Mystras, Vittel and Hinahoho. Seeing Falan at the palace without confronting her was enough of a difficulty, but to actually have to interact with her-it made looking back on seeing her that day easy.

The anxious feeling building in their chests deflated when they actually opened the door to the room where they were expecting to see Falan; only to see someone they did not recognize as the Parthevia magician. At least that was the case for Ja'far and Sinbad when they entered the room and saw the women standing in front of them.

Sakura, was not precise in that situation

"Sorry, we must have the wrong room." Ja'far said, about to head out of the room when the women spoke.

"No you have the right room. It's been a long time since we last met."

The women stood up, she had long orange hair in two hoops on either side of her head, wearing a short top with a long collar opening in a deep cut exposing most of her ample chest. She carried in her hand, a long, golden staff with an oval shaped dome. As Sakura look at her, an image appeared flashing in her mind, going as quickly as it came.

 _There was something black being held in her arms, cradled like a precious object despite its grotesque appearance. It started with a round top, reaching down to two outstretched figures and down to another two, like arms and legs._

" _Mama..Papa, I'm scared…It's so hot."_

" _Tess…..TESS"_

Sakura spoke, in a near whisper of a voice that didn't feel like her own as she stared at the women, a vaguest sense of familiarity. "Falan."

The women looked at the pinkette, "Ah, so you do know who I am interloper. I thought my initial appearance would have you believe I was someone else."

Sakura touched her forehead, blinking rapidly. It happened again, that uncertainty she felt. As if she was hanging on the edge of knowing what she spoke but at the same time she did not. There was no clear way for her to describe it. Whatever she had seen before was gone too, but she knew that she had seen something-something that made her heart beat and her stomach twist.

'What was that?'

"I need to have a word with you."

* * *

Sinbad, Sakura and Falan took seats at a table while Hinahoho, Mystras, Vittel and Ja'far remained standing right behind Sinbad and Sakura, as if they were guarding them. With the tense silence, Falan decided to break it by asking if anything was wrong and to have Sinbad respond that everyone was just surprised to discover that she was the magician from Parthevia.

"You should be in Parthevia. Does Barbarossa know about this?" Sinbad asked bluntly.

Falan shook her head in response, "No, I came here secretly. I'm not here on official business but rather personal reasons."

Sakura folded her arms; the feeling she had around Falan now was something that she just couldn't place and she wasn't sure what kind of light she would place it in. "What would those reasons be exactly? As we're allied with Parthevia, you're more than welcome despite our previous affiliations; but there are still those here who may bare a grudge for your past actions against them."

The grip on her staff strengthened, but other than that Falan made no real movement. "I came here to tell you something, but I know you do not trust me so there is no guarantee that you will believe me no matter what I say. But I still want to try…."

Falan's eyes fell on the young company president, "Destiny. Tell me. What do you think, destiny is?"

Ja'far wanted to protest to Falan's questioning, to put it on hold until the Parthevia mage answered their questions but Sinbad silenced him and answered.

"I think of destiny as a guide to the future." Sinbad said, "Every person has a goal to accomplish in life and we're all looking for the right path to lead us to the future. We're guided by our destiny which influences our actions and leads us all forward."

As Sinbad went on to explain that destiny was a natural cycle that creates the future, Sakura watched Falan carefully for any changes in appearance to the answer, to see if she could find the mages reason for asking the odd question and what she might have wanted in turn for an answer. Although Sinbad's explanation sounded accurate to the pinkette, she didn't know what to think of destiny herself anymore. Not when she had been lead to a world where fate and destiny have no effect on her. Then a thought occurred to her; fate wasn't what sent her to this world then did that mean…

'Did I abandon my own destiny?'

"I see, even someone as special as you think's he has to follow destiny." Falan said, then glancing towards Sakura. "Even though you now have her-an interloper by your side."

Sinbad frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You both, should know the truth of destiny that controls this world and….just what kind of existence you humans actually have."

On request of Falan, Sinbad sent everyone out of the room as their guest wanted to speak to Sakura and Sinbad privately. No one protests to being sent away by their leader, although they weren't entirely in agreement for safety reasons but since Sakura was there with Sinbad, even without metal vessels they were all well aware of the pinkettes unusual abilities. There were two reasons why Sinbad had actually consented to this private meeting; he was interested in what the magician said and she also seemed to know about Sakura-a matter which only he was aware in their immediate circle. That would not have been the best way to reveal anything.

"I'm sorry for making you dismiss everyone, but what I am about to say cannot be understood by just anyone." Falan said.

"Don't worry about it." Sinbad leaned forward, setting his arms across his legs. "It seemed like you didn't want everyone here that's why I asked them to leave. Besides, it seems like you have something important to discuss don't you, Falan?"

Sakura had the same assumption as Sinbad, but there was also something else. The longer Sakura looked at Falan in her initial form, the stranger she began to feel herself. It was like she should be able to place Falan as someone already categorized in her memories but not in the way that she currently had her placed.

Falan smirked, "Just as I expected. I'm glad I chose you."

"What do you mean?" asked Sinbad with a shallow smile.

"Just what I said, I admired you since that time we crossed paths in Valefor's dungeon."

Sakura frowned. Her memory taking her back to their time in Valefor's dungeon where they were all nearly killed, there was also the reminder of Ja'far, Vittel and Mahad nearly being transformed into monsters. This resulted in a sarcastic response to the magician. "You certainly have an interesting way of showing your admiration don't you?"

"I created that beast to test your abilities. Does tell you that make you angry at me again?"

"No," Sinbad replied, "So are you going to tell me what you've chosen me for?"

"Yes." There was a frightening gleam in Falan's eyes as she smiled broadly at the two. "I've chosen you as the one who will receive to key to free us from the bonds of destiny."

Sinbad and Sakura were taken aback by the declaration.

"Falan, that doesn't make any sense. What exactly are you trying to say destiny is?" asked Sinbad.

Falan continued to smile, "Destiny is….the flow of the great will that guides this world."

Sakura and Sinbad listened attentively to Falan's words of destiny. She told them of the flow that guides everything in this world. Everything that people think, feel, create, which they believe to be of their own accord is not that but in fact nothing more than the flow of destiny in which they were existing. It meant that they couldn't go against the system established in this world.

"That isn't so unusual though," Sakura pointed out. "Isn't destiny a natural phenomenon?"

"But what if it wasn't? Falan countered, "What if, what if the flow was something set and dictated by someone?"

Both Sakura and Sinbad fell silent, their eyes widening as the question settled deep within the confines of their minds. Destiny was always something individuals thought to be in accord to themselves and fate but they did not truly consider who it was that decided that fate. They didn't stop to consider if there was someone pulling them in the directions of the paths they believed they were choosing to walk.

'Is that the same in my world?' Sakura wondered. Destiny in her world had not thus far been very generous to many of the people in her life. Her teammates in particular and that ignited a small spark of anger within her.

"It's never crossed your mind has it?" Falan asked them, "If you really think about a person's destiny….Why people were born, why loved ones dies, why people grieve and cry out in agony? It's because people have been living false lives based on the 'rules' that were created within the system."

Sakura interjected, clutching her hands tightly together. "So you're saying…that we're not truly in charge of our own lives and the decisions we make or the path we decide to follow?"

Falan nodded, she stood up and came towards Sinbad and Sakura, placing her hands on each of their shoulders. "Despite that, are you really going to insist that destiny is something you should believe it? It was created by someone, it is controlled by someone. 'Destiny' is nothing more than a prison."

What Falan said had Sakura's mind running on two sides to the matter. Destiny by the definition as Falan had placed it and yet there was another part to this, that it was not all that Falan had claimed it to be and then when she said 'someone' had created destiny, an individual, that caused the pinkette to feel a sharp wretch deep in her, but it was almost out of body. A sharp pain shot through Sakura's skull making her wince, she clutched the side of her head.

'What is this?'

"Sakura?" Sinbad touched the pinkette's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

The pain was gone.

"I'm fine." Sakura assured, turning back to Falan. "You were saying."

"I can't accept a life that was decided for me," Falan claimed. "Our joy, our suffering, even our deaths is something dictated by destiny. A world like that….Is something I will never allow."

Falan stepped back away from the pair, the next thing she said had Sinbad and Sakura completely awestruck. "But you Sinbad, you were born with a vast amount of magoi at your disposal and you can feel destiny. You're someone special. Even though you're bound by destiny, you also have the power to deviate from it. That makes you a singularity."

Sinbad frowned, "Singularity?"

"Yes, it means you have the ability to oppose destiny." Falan stated

Sakura went rigid when Falan's eyes fell on her once again. "And you-you're an interloper. Someone who had defied your own destiny to come into this world. You have already done what we wish to accomplish."

"Then, what exactly….is an interloper?" Sakura asked, "I already know that it is someone that comes from one world into another."

"Yes, they are ones who do not belong to the great flow of this world because they are born and bound to another. A destiny with a different system. They are the ones capable of not only defying destiny-but influencing other's to move away from their own destiny." Falan said, looking back and forth between the two. "For this reason; the two of you could not have made a better match."

"What exactly does that mean?" Sinbad asked.

"An interloper and singularity." Falan stated, in a manner that told Sinbad and Sakura that she expected them to already know what she was talking about, but after a few moments when they made no motion to comment, she continued to elaborate. "The possibility of freeing this world from the bonds of destiny is you. Both of you. Sinbad, are you going to continue to live a life bound by destiny? Don't you want to escape it and grasp true freedom as this interloper has? It's possible for someone like you!"

Sinbad's expression turned indifferent, "Could you wait just a minute? It's honestly difficult to understand what you are telling us. In fact it just sounds like ranting." Sinbad held up his hand. "Although you don't seem to be lying to us."

Sakura nodded, "Although it's a wonder how you know all of this."

"Exactly." Sinbad pointed. "You're not just a magician are you? How do you know these things?"

Falan just smiled again, "Just someone who really hates destiny. I am part of an organization that aims return the world to the way it should be."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "The way it should be?"

"Yes."

"You said organization; there are other's like you?" Sinbad asked skeptical now.

"Yes. We are a long with knowledge of ancient magic. A group formed by the nameless-'Althamen.'"

Again; Sakura felt it-a trigger of some sort, with emotions she couldn't place as her own and yet couldn't discard as another's either. Sakura placed her hand on top of her chest, trying not to lose face in front of Falan and Sinbad.

'What is happening?'

"Sinbad, Sakura; we expect great things from you." Setting her staff under her arm, Falan grasped Sinbad and Sakura's hands in her own. "We expect you to turn the world to how it really should be. Because of that, we will give your assistance-of course there is one way of defying fate in which we cannot help you."

Sakura leaned her head back, "What would that be?"

Falan said nothing but one word. "Hajin."

"What's that?" the pair asked the mage.

"Something I hope the two of you will create." Falan told them. Although that didn't cover ground for a real explanation and they weren't given the chance to ask before Falan changed their course on the sub-topics in the conversation. "You should remember this before you decide to decline. If it were for destiny; then the two of you would never have crossed each other's paths. It was not fate that brought you together; but the will and actions of the interloper who coincidently crossed paths with your own Sinbad."

Sakura peered at Sinbad, his silence made her wonder what exactly he was ponder but her thoughts stopped from dragging her into a dark place when she saw the smallest smile on his face.

"I understand. We'll accept your assistance."

Sakura literally bit her tongue to keep from speaking out against Sinbad. She didn't accept, but because Sinbad had, she doubted that if the time came that she would defy him anyway.

Falan nodded, smiling pleased. "As expected, I knew you'd-

"But not right now." Sinbad interjected, holding up his hand. "As you can see, we're currently occupied with building our kingdom. So we can't help you right now. But the next time you visit we can talk about this again and don't worry, we'll keep it a secret."

"Very well." Breathed Falan, shutting her eyes. "That's all for today but remember, destiny is going to make the two of you suffer too."

Falan then produced a black, sheathed dagger from under her long sleeved cloak and held it out with both hands towards the two. "If you should reach that point and wish to run from destiny, please us this. It is one of our own creations. It's similar to your metal vessels. With its power, you will be able to 'tear' destiny."

Bowing her head and holding the dagger higher towards the two, Falan said "This is proof of our loyalty to you. Keep it."

After placing the dagger on the table, Falan then walked towards the door, when she was officially outside of the room, she turned back to the two once more. "There is one more thing you should know Sinbad. Your interloper emits a sense that she is 'not like other's' and that tends to capture interests. Because she is what you would need in order to thrive beyond the flow of destiny and set yourself high. She is an asset."

Sinbad replied immediately, correcting Falan's statement. "She's my partner."

"She is what you make her."

Sinbad and Sakura waited silently for the door to close before making any movements or drawing another breath. Sinbad went to the table and picked up the dagger, examining it closely. Like their metal vessels there was an eight pointed star shaped on it. Although it didn't give any reaction that was cause for alarm; Sakura felt that there was more than meets the eye.

"Why did you just agree with her?"

"I feel like creating close ties with her will be worth it. As for destiny-that is right now and all we can do is keep moving forward." Sinbad told her, starring at the dagger before raising it up and swiftly jamming it in between the wood of the table. "I'll use anyone or anything, no matter what."

Sakura didn't respond, silently watching Sinbad but Falan's conversation had opened a new depth within her mind, one that would slowly fill with Sakura's new knowledge of this world and her opinions of what it was she had done by arriving in it.

* * *

Sakura's mind refused to turn itself off that night to give its host her well-needed rest. Her thoughts on destiny and the ability to make other's fall out of it was

dwelling on her. Sinbad slept quietly beside her, snoring lightly with his chest rising and falling in deep breath.

He had put Falan's token of loyalty away where no one would be able to question it.

When Falan had appeared, Sakura didn't know what had come over her, what she saw and said and why she had such a strange sensation of nostalgia that was symultaniously foreign. She had hoped that she would be able to place the feeling but she just couldn't. She felt something strange, almost out of body and yet at the same time she was present, similar to the experience of having a dream. And like all dreams it ended and brought her back to reality where one who couldn't remember their dreams would frustrated attempt to recall the details of the picture their subconscious had painted for them and still come out with a blank canvas.

While lying on her back, Sakura raised her hand up towards the ceiling and flexed her fingers several times. In an attempt to distract herself from the meeting she drew herself to another matter but that wasn't any less concerning than the previous issue. None the less she thought about this new issue and as her analytical ability began to process her thoughts and place them together like pieces of a puzzle, taking past experience and then coming to a conclusion she did not want to reach.

'Oh no!'

Sakura leaped out of the bed and rushed out of the room.

* * *

Serendine crept quietly into the office and set a scroll down on the desk. It was not the most compassionate way to bid someone farewell but it was the easiest. Face to face would have made things that much more difficult. Glancing at the painting that was resting in a frame right behind Sinbad's desk, a tear slid down her cheek before she quickly wiped it away.

"Going somewhere?"

Gasping softly, Serendine turned on her heal while reaching her hand towards her sword, only to stop when she realized that the person who had caught her out was none other than Sakura-someone she knew better than to draw her sword against.

"Sakura, I was just-

"Just going to leave without a word of goodbye…at least not verbally." Sakura glanced at the scroll on the desk, keeping her hands on her hips. "I have a bit of experience with runaways and running away myself."

Serendine averted her gaze, turning to the dark corner of the office. "It doesn't matter, it's not any-

"Any of my business." Sakura finished for Serendine, blankly. Laying well on her claim for having experience in situations like these. "You're leaving to take revenge for yourself aren't you?"

Serendine's silence was all Sakura needed for an answer. Running her hands through her hair, Sakura gave a dry laugh that had Serendine feeling mocked. "What is with you avengers? You think you can just walk away from everyone who cares about you like they were nothing."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Actually I understand more than you think." Sakura took a step forward, "I have lost someone important to me before because he chose revenge over life. He was willing to shroud himself in darkness just to achieve the power for revenge. He walked away and ruined everyone who stood in his way."

Serendine squeezed her eyes shut tightly, her shoulder's trembling. "Sinbad told me; that if I wanted revenge, I would have to take it myself. So please don't get in my way."

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"To get more power." Serendine stated. "Judar, Sahel and Tamira are coming with me."

"You do realize that if you leave and get discovered, Sindria Company won't be able to aid you anymore because you will have officially cut all ties with us right? You once told me how you hated being on the run and you're willing to go back to that? Is it worth it?"

Serendine seemed taken aback by Sakura's force and blunt questions along with her cold expression.

"Sakura-

"It's a simple question Serendine. Is it worth it?"

Sakura kept quiet after, holding her position firmly to show Serendine that she wouldn't be leaving that office until she answered the other pinkette's questions.

"Yes." Serendine answered in barely a whisper. Then her voice grew firm as her belief was planted firmly in the soils of her mind and she was once again able to look Sakura in the eye. "Because when everything you love has been taken from you, all you have left is revenge."

"Revenge does nothing but breed eternal misery." Sakura stated firmly. "No matter how strong your hate is; that is an inevitable fate of those who choose to walk this path, because they will have dedicated their entire being, everything that they are on this simple goal. Forgetting their future after that. There will be nothing left of you."

Serendine smiled, she raised her arm that was at the hilt of her sword to her chest, resting it in between her breasts where she could feel her heartbeat. "Yes it hurts; it's lonely and sometimes you think it would be better to just turn your back on the past and keep moving forward with those who are offering you a better future but it's different when you still have something worth fighting for."

"If it were different, then there would be a better outcome." Sakura pointed.

Serendine's eyes hardened, she threw her arms out wildly. "Then I'll take it! Because I hate Barbarossa so much that I'm willing to destroy myself if I can take him down with me!"

Sasuke's stoic face flashed across Sakura's mind, nearly blinding her reality and what was right in front of her and for the first time; Sakura felt anger, true anger towards the Uchiha she had so devotedly declared her love for, this was the first time she had felt any kind of resentment towards him. Even all those times he pushed her away, rejected her, called her annoying, even when he left her on that bench out in the cold night, she had never felt any negative emotions.

With her head hung low, she whispered just loud enough for Serendine to catch in the silence of the night. "Stupid…"

"What?"

"You're so stupid." Biting her bottom lip, Sakura shook her head, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. She smiled up at Serendine. "At some point you have to stop and move on or you're not going to grow. You'll always stay frozen in time, holding onto a past that can't be changed while everyone else around you keeps on going, lives their life's and leaves you behind because you refused to let go of something you couldn't change and always blame yourself for."

Sakura blinked back her tears, taking a deep breath knowing that she had be quiet to keep from alerting any sleeping individuals "Your life wont' be your own anymore and it will be short lived because that's all revenge is compared to a lifetime."

"The past can be mended!" Serendine exclaimed, tears now streaming down her face. "I will make it so! I don't care how much pain I have to endure or if I destroy my future! You tell me to move forward, to let go of the past but how can I do that when I still have people I care about? When there is a chance for me to save them, now with this power? What would you do if you had the chance?"

"If it's for revenge-

"And what if it wasn't for revenge but justice?" Serendine quickly countered, "What would you do then?"

"But it's not-

"What if it was!? What would you do?"

Sakura remained silent, starring at Serendine trying to hide her indecision. At any other point she would've known the answer and would have been able to give it straight away; but it was different now. Because she had already made her pledge to Sinbad.

"Now you tell me Sakura, it's a simple question."

Sakura closed her eyes. "It doesn't matter; because I already made my decision to let go of my past and move forward with Sinbad-at his side."

"I'm not the only one who's stupid then." Serendine shook her head, as the pinkette continued to keep her eyes closed from the princess. "I might have chosen revenge Sakura, but at least I still know who I am; I'm still whole. You on the other hand…"

Sakura's vision turned back on Serendine so she could glare at the princess. "What are you saying?"

Serendine was blunt to the answer, her words cutting sharper than any blade, piercing straight into Sakura's mind.

"I'm saying that you are losing yourself to him Sakura." Serendine's voice grew more fragile, like a desperate plea for her to understand. "I've been watching you Sakura. You do whatever he wants and you don't care about what you wish for. Eventually, you're going to become nothing more than his shadow, following after him and having no free will of your own."

Sakura was taken aback by Serendine's declaration and immediately went on the offense to refuse it. "That isn't true."

"Yes it is; because I've seen you. You're more devoted to Sinbad than anyone and I know how far you're willing to go for him. How much you're willing to change for him. I don't think it's fair to you."

"I've made the decision already to follow Sinbad, I want to see his dream come true." Sakura stated determined. Swallowing down the bitter taste of every agreement to Serendine's declaration, without leaving a lingering aftertaste. "Even if I have to dirty my hands; I will do whatever it takes to continue to stand beside him. Because without Sinbad…."

" _Just let go Sakura. Forget it all. Stop your pain."_

Sprinting forward, Serendine grasped Sakura's shoulders tightly and pulled her so close that their faces were mere inches from each other, unable to hide anything from one another.

"You can't get swept up in someone else's fate Sakura! If you feel like you have to prove your worth to someone, then you should just walk away. I have chosen my own path; you should choose yours. Stop using love as an excuse to stay and stop trying so hard to change or you'll forget who you are!"

Sakura couldn't respond, she couldn't counter. Even though she knew that Serendine was referring much to herself at certain points that triggered Sakura's emotions. She wasn't nearly this lost as their trial in Zepar's dungeon but it seemed that just as before, Serendine was the better master of her own heart.

"I've watched you and I found something; no matter how much you change, you are never going to think you're good enough when you stand next to him. You will always have doubts, because you didn't do any of this for yourself-you did it for him."

Sakura pulled back carefully in an effort to distance herself from the princess, but Serendine refused to release her. So Sakura stopped.

"How can you be so certain? All these claims of losing myself to him? Aren't I just doing my best to make sure I can stand by his side instead of the background? How is this different from me working to be where I want to be?"

Serendine barely took a breath before she responded. "Because I've seen the kind of love you allow yourself to be given, Sakura. It's like a poison, sweet; but it will kill you all the same."

"Hate is the real poison here and you don't seem to have any problem giving it to yourself!" Sakura countered.

Serendine smiled softly, "Yes and the outcome will be the same for the both of us because we reject the simple cure to our poisons."

"Which is what?" Sakura asked, irritated.

"Loving yourself enough not to sacrifice everything you are for something or someone else." Serendine's eyebrows knitted together in distress and her expression changed to something Sakura hadn't seen but had felt she had worn before. The tears running down her face, her eyes wide open, afraid to blink in case the person in front of her vanished…this was the face she had when she lost Sasuke.

"Come with me."

Sakura wanted to step back but she didn't; instead she stood there, silent and still with shock, allowing Serendine to take Sakura's hands in her own and press them at the center of her chest.

"What?"

"Leave with me," Serendine tugged on Sakura's hands, reeling her closer. "Leave the company with me!"

Sakura blinked in disbelief "Serendine, why would you even suggest something like that? When you know how far I've gone for Sinbad and my feelings? How can you expect me to betray him like that?"

"Because of this!" Serendine pulled Sakura roughly, causing her to stumble a bit straight into the Parthevia princess and for a moment she was convinced Serendine was going to smack her but Sakura's mind wasn't worried about that when Serendine's lips had fallen on top of her own and erased all her thoughts and counter reactions. Sakura didn't move and in that instant; it was as if everything around them had become paralyzed with shock.

Serendine moved away, releasing Sakura's hands and stepping back so that their eyes met. "I love you Sakura."

With trembling fingers, Sakura touched her lips, unable to utter a word as of yet so Serendine took the chance to be heard.

"You're always standing by Sinbad, doing everything for his sake and even after all of that you still called yourself weak and a burden. I helped you because I wanted to change that, I wanted you to see your value but the more time I spent with you, the more I saw it. You are going to cling to Sinbad as I cling to revenge because you believe you have nothing else and it's going to destroy you. So I'm giving you a choice."

Serendine extended her hand towards Sakura, there were tears in the corner of her eyes. "I won't make you feel like you need to be anyone but yourself, you won't feel like you have to change to stay by my side. What you are-who you are is enough; it's more than enough for me."

Sakura took a small step back, "I…."

"I know that you love Sinbad," Serendine swallowed. "But if you stay here, you're going to lose yourself to him. You're going to think you can't survive without him and you will destroy yourself for him. I don't want that to happen to you…so please" Serendine widened her hand, stretching out her fingers to expose her palm further.

"Please come with me."

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…

 _ **To the dear members of the Sindria Company, I'm certain that by the time you read this letter, we will already be gone.**_

 _ **I am grateful to all of you. Back when we had nowhere to go, you were concerned for us and welcomed us. Despite knowing all you have done for me, I was still quite arrogant and rude at work. Still, I think you from the bottom of my heart for everything you taught me. You pushed me to my limit and showed me that it's not easy to work in a company like this. Truly thank you. Saying goodbye to the people who took care of me on this journey breaks my heart but…I hope can forgive.**_

 _ **It's just that there is something I have to do and I'd like for you to understand that. I just hope that thanks to our bonds we'll somehow see each other again.**_

 _ **Goodbye**_

This was the contents of the letter read out to everyone in the company the following morning after Sinbad found it lying on his desk. Ja'far and Sinbad held out the parchment, surrounded by employees. Many who went into hysterics, knowing that the princess was in exile and hiding especially Pipirika who had gotten very close to Serendine. Now that she, Tamira and Sahel were no longer under the Companies protection, she was worried that they would be discovered and hunted once again. Anyone who had heard the hardships of their story would feel the same but Ja'far stated that this action was inevitable.

The entire room, filled with people went silent for what felt painfully long, until Sinbad clapped his hands together twice, the timing of them spaced to know that this was not an applause but rather a call for attention.

"Raise your heads everyone." Sinbad said calmly. "We won't achieve anything if we continue being sad. I'm certain there are bound to be different opinions here in the company. Just like Serendine, others will leave us. But now that we've started making progress, we can't stop. Even while we mourn the loss of a member of our team, we can't do anything but move forward."

As the many other moments when Sinbad had given his moving speeches that grasped at people's minds and touched their hearts, there was no exception to this one and many heads started to rise. "For the country we're aiming to create…for our dream to become a reality…"

Sinbad held up his arm in the air, clenching his fist tightly as if he had a grasp on the most valuable treasure, his eyes strong as ever and his voice clear with determination. "Everyone lend me your strength…In order to create our country!"

The devastation that had fallen over the company employees after the tsunami wave of losing their comrades soon began to run back into the sea of their minds as Sinbad created a wave of hope to wash over them.

When everyone else settled down, Sinbad went to approach Drakon who was standing silently the entire time. He had not left with Serendine and the other's which was surprising to Sinbad.

"Drakon! I'm glad to see that you're still here." Sinbad said, his brave face faltering at the sight of his comrade. "I thought you'd gone with Serendine and the others."

Drakon hadn't left with Serendine because although the two had come to Sindria Trading under the same circumstances; they had chosen to walk on different paths. Serendine, following her own and Drakon, to follow Sinbad. When Sinbad apologized sincerely to Drakon; all he did was shake his head and saying that opinions were bound to differ when situations change-referring to Sindria's recent alliance with Parthevia.

"Everyone chooses their own path and I've chosen mine. With certainty in my heart, I chose to stay by my lords side and that Lord is you Sinbad, not Serendine. The path that I choose is the path that I will take right by your side."

The declaration didn't help the guilt building inside of Sinbad, knowing that he had driven the girl to this point. He told her to take revenge on her own and it seemed that she had heeded his advice to heart but he couldn't tell Drakon that.

With his fist held tightly, Sinbad knocked softly against Drakon's hard, scaly torso; his head lowered towards the ground. "Thank you….Drakon. These feelings you've entrusted to me, I swear I won't let them go to waste." Sinbad murmured. "I'll make sure we succeed in making our kingdom a reality!"

Ja'far turned from his leader to Mystras and Pipirika, addressing a matter that had been dwelling on him since this morning.

"Has anyone seen Sakura?" asked Ja'far.

"No," Mystras shook his head.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her all day." Pipirika said, holding her chin. "Didn't she get the meeting call?"

"I don't think that's it," Ja'far said leaning closer towards the two, glancing back at Sinbad before turning to the other's to whisper. "When I went to the lab, she wasn't there and she wasn't in the room with Sinbad this morning when I came to wake him."

Pipirika and Mystras exchanged worried expressions. "Serendine, Sahel, Tamira and Judar are gone and Sakura hasn't been seen….?"

Ja'far nodded, stealing another look at Sinbad before resuming. "I don't want anyone jumping to conclusions. Just keep a look out for her and don't tell Sinbad either."

The worry of keeping Sinbad's mind off of the currently missing Sakura resolved itself when in an instant a new participant entered into the conversation as they had entered into the company, casual and with little care.

"So, this is Sindria Trading Company. It's quiet cozy, isn't it Sinbad?"

Sinbad gaped at the sight of the surprise visitor, who had arrived under the worst circumstances.

"Barbarossa!"

* * *

The warm sand brushed against her exposed skin, emerald green eyes stared up at a clear sky, the sun burnt her skin after lying there for hours but Sakura did not move. Remaining with her arms and legs spread out across the sand on the beach; with no worry of being spotted as she was on the island Sinbad had taken her to for their date. She had flown their easily last night after her conversation with Serendine.

" _Sakura, please; come with me."_

 _The quiet for Serendine was like a cold blade being held lightly against her throat, threatening but still holding her on the edge of hope that it would be removed and it was Sakura's voice._

 _The beams of moonlight that shone through the glass windows made Serendine see Sakura's emerald eyes begin to glisten like real gems and before the other pinkette responded, she already knew the answer to her request._

" _I'm sorry Serendine. I won't leave Sinbad, I won't." Sakura stated. "I already decided to do whatever I must to stand by his side."_

" _You decided or he-_

" _I decided!" Sakura exclaimed, not wanting Serendine to finish that question. She did not want it in her thoughts._

 _Serendine could feel her throat tightening, making it difficult to draw in breath. "Why, Sakura?"_

" _Because I love him Serendine."_

 _Stomping her foot on the wooden floors, causing a light tremor, Serendine cried out. "That can't always be your excuse Sakura!"_

" _It's not an excuse, it's the truth!" Sakura exclaimed, her voice equally powerful. "And if you just stay here, I'm sure you'll see it is! Sinbad is going to change the world! Who wouldn't want to be a part of that!?"_

 _Serendine shook her head in disbelief, giving a blank smile. "Sakura…listen to yourself. You don't see your own worth because of him! You're not working towards standing beside him because he is going to hide you in his shadow! Change is one thing, but it's another to forget who you are. And one day you're going to look at yourself and see a stranger. So for once do yourself a favor and leave!"_

 _Sakura looked away, "I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave him."_

 _Serendine scoffed, wiping her face. "Sinbad chose to ally himself with Parthevia because it was a benefit to him; an asset-if he can let go of personal feelings to achieve his goals like this, do you honestly believe he wouldn't be willing to use those who placed their trust in him too?"_

 _Sakura shut her eyes, those words acting like a chain reaction. From the moment she met Sinbad, conquering Valefor's dungeons, meeting king Rashid in Reim, their meeting in Sasan and Artemyra, her running off to save him from Madaura, her ignoring those falsely incriminated people that were turned into monsters…._

" _It doesn't matter." Sakura's expression was stoic, she held her hands at her sides limply. Her tone was dull but it cut through Serendine like the finest blade. "Without Sinbad, I have nothing, no purpose, nowhere to go. I have already done things; it's too late for me to go back. My family, friends and home are no longer within my reach. If he uses my love to move towards his goal, I will let him."_

 _Serendine looked away with her eyes shut tightly, her mouth curled in grimace and her shoulders shook as if in pain. Then she stilled. Sakura waited as Serendine turned to her once again, her eyes hardened with her expression like stone._

" _Then remain here and let him ruin you, because as the two of you are right now that is what will happen."_

 _Serendine stepped forward, making her way passed Sakura as if she was briefly crossing paths with a stranger on the street, stopping at the door's entrance way. "I hope you find your pride again and realize you are more than capable of standing on your own. Goodbye Sakura."_

" _Goodbye….Serendine."_

Sakura raised her hand towards the sky, her hand spread as if it was waiting for something to fall into it and then made a fist like she had caught something and held it there.

'Whatever it takes, right?'

* * *

"Where have you been?"

This was the alarmed greeting Sakura received as she entered into her room she shared with Sinbad; who was waiting impatiently for her, sitting on the end of the bed. He stood immediately when he saw Sakura coming in through the window.

"Sinbad." Sakura sighed, relieved although her partner's sour demeanor did not waver when she embraced him. "I thought you were already sleeping."

Sinbad frowned, leaning away from her. "Serendine leaves a letter saying she is leaving the company with her ladies and Judar and my girlfriend is nowhere to be found after that. Where in that statement do you read 'went to bed peacefully?"

" _Would you like for me for a quick escape?" asked Sitri._

"Where did you go?" Sinbad asked, his voice turning hard.

"I went to that deserted island you took me to on our date."

"Why?"

Sakura moved back completely, walking over to the dresser and removing her djinns whose voices were echoing in comments and opinions in her mind.

"I just had to go out for a little bit Sinbad."

"Did you know?"

Sakura's hands stopped midway from removing Gaap's dagger from her waist before she resumed her actions. "Know what?"

Sinbad's footsteps were in heavy haste as he reached Sakura, gripping her forearm to turn her around. "Did you know that Serendine was planning on leaving?"

Blinking thrice, Sakura curled the right corner of her lip downward and shrugged her shoulder. Although the pinkette was remaining aloof, Sinbad caught on immediately to the truth just by her gesture.

Sinbad scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You knew…."

Starring for only a few seconds, she spoke. "I'm tired."

Side stepping, Sakura began undoing the button that held the strap of her top together with little care or effort before removing it. Then slipping off her spandex shorts and heading towards the closet to for her sleepwear-a curtsy of Rurumu who had enough of seeing the pinkette run around in her sports bra and shorts. The dress was similar to a short nightgown, with soft, light fabric that was nearly impossible to feel.

"Sakura."

After repeating her name another five times without response, Sinbad felt like the last threads of his patience were being carelessly pulled by Sakura's silence. While her back continued to be the only thing facing Sinbad, he clenched his jaw tightly.

"When did you know that she was going to leave?"

Sakura kept up her front of silence but Sinbad was determined to break through the glass wall Sakura believed to be made of stone.

"Sakura, I'm not asking twice."

"Well I'm not answering once!" Sakura snapped back. Her shoulders reaching for her neck and her firsts tightly clenched at her side. "What does it matter? She's already left and no one knows where right?"

Gasping when she felt Sinbad's hot breath against her neck, he wrapped his arms around her waist before she could distance herself, tightening his grip when she attempted to move and although he knew well that she could escape at any moment she chose to, Sinbad also knew how feeble he could make her.

"I thought you left with her," he confessed, rubbing his nose against the back of her neck. "After we read the letter; Barbarossa came in and-

Sakura frowned, worried at the prospect of the former Parthevian general arriving at the company unannounced, especially with their employees. Ja'far, Vittel and Mahad who he had hired to assassinate Sinbad, then there was Drakon who had come seeking refuge with Serendine and her attendants. If Barbarossa discovered them, it put the company at risk of losing their alliance with Parthevia. "Barbarossa was here?"

Sinbad immediately noticed her concern for the situation and circumstances of his arrival. "Don't worry. When he arrived he saw Drakon but he apparently knew all along that we were harboring him and Serendine."

Sinbad was personally surprised by Barbarossa's response to seeing his younger brother at the company. Although it looked like the situation was going to damage their relationship with Barbarossa when he bluntly pointed out Sinbad hiding a wanted man in Parthevia. When Sinbad pointed that the event was while Barbarossa was a general, in military service and give his current status in the country Sinbad didn't think it was necessary to report his household vessel as Barbarossa no longer had any business concerning himself with these sort of issues. Sinbad also claimed that Drakon was an official employee of the company. Surprisingly, Barbarossa had the same opinion on the matter but he had been waiting for Sinbad to tell him the truth for a while. He knew that Sinbad had taken in the deserters of the Shamlash clan, as well as Drakon and princess Serendine.

"He even asked why he hadn't seen her around."

"What happened after that?" Sakura asked, craning her neck to the side for Sinbad to rest his head against.

"I told him that Serendine left on her own, that she wanted to revert Parthevia to what it was and that I agreed to help her but then stopped after meeting him and that the way Parthevia was now was the way to change the world. I also said that I have no intensions of lying or betraying him and the rest was settled after."

Sakura was relieved, at least Barbarossa didn't demand any favors from Sinbad like helping him track down the princess or anything else of the sort. However, the brief detailing of the past meeting had made Sakura more lax and more willing to reveal.

"I caught Serendine last night before she left. I tried getting her to change her mind but she wouldn't and she asked me to come with her."

Sinbad paused, "What?"

It was a short debate as to whether or not she should tell Sinbad the details of last night's interaction, as they would probably create a spark that would light the flames of Sinbad's anger but she was also aware of Sinbad's sharp perception. So she decided to give him a portion of what she had stashed away in the vault of her mind.

"Serendine wanted me to come with her and when I asked her why…." Sakura closed her eyes, "She told me she loved me and…kissed me."

There was an expected silence created after Sakura gave her explanation. Sinbad wouldn't ask for the details as his mind was assume the only reason Serendine wanted Sakura to go with her was because she had feelings for the pinkette and that she couldn't stand to leave without attempting to bring her with him.

"What did you say to her after?"

"I'm still here so, you have your answer." Sakura whispered, reaching up to clutching the arm around her. She wanted the conversation to end now as she felt a painful tightening in her throat as she replayed her and Serendine's confrontation last night.

She felt Sinbad's body shake, but that was because he was chuckling in a dull tone that showed there was no humor behind the laugh. "Unbelievable, every time I turn away someone is trying to steal you from me."

Sakura could predict the jealous tension arising within Sinbad once again and attempted to snuff out the flames before they grew. "Sin-

His grip tightened nearing the point of vice, "Don't ever disappear like that again. From now on, tell me wherever you plan on going. Do you understand?"

"Sinbad."

Sinbad's voice became firmer in an instant and his grip, tighter. "Do you understand, Sakura?"

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Yes, Sinbad."

* * *

That was the last time that Sakura and Sinbad ever spoke of Serendine. They, along with the rest of Sindria trading company, continued to work towards their goal of creating a country. They continued to expand their branches and reach out to the rest of the world. Parthevia being allied with the Sindria Company had pulled the country out of its recession and had it gaining the power it once had before the war. There were no major incidents since then concerning the company and aside from the increase amount in work and their leader's infection of a workaholic syndrome. Everything appeared to be in place, as it should.

And so a year passed…..

* * *

 **THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS.**

 **Don't worry, I will be working on the next chapter and hopefully will have it posted in this month before I go back to university. While you are waiting…..**

 **DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW**


	40. Thank you for everything

**Hello everyone; I am finally able to update this chapter and I decided for this particular update to be on my birthday as a gift from me to you!**

 **Now before you begin reading, you should know that there are going to be a few times jumps between the past, present and future. So I suggest reading carefully and take your time because it is a lengthy chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Cracking-was all that could be heard.

The sound of stone threatening to crumble and to take down as much as it could with its misshapen mess as its final act. A fortress that appeared to be made of fine marble, patterned with carvings that would make you stand still for more than a minute to admire, but far more solid than appearance would dictate. The smallest particles; that was once part of such magnificent structures were no more than an unsightly pile of rubble that continued to build and create more of an unsightly display. The floors lay littered with objects that shinned brightly against the light, dominant of silver and gold. A single figure strolled through the debris as if all were well, no fear, no concern, absolutely nothing but determination in each footstep, in each stride making its way to the goal. It was as if engaging a force of nature, it wouldn't be stopped.

A soft voice let out a rather heavy sigh, "My, my, my look what you have done." There was a sharp click of the tongue, with exaggerated distress. "My dungeon is barely standing; you must have been in quite the rush to get to the treasury if you're willing to destroy most of it. Care to explain why?"

Green eyes, like emeralds, shimmering and hard stared back into unique purple eyes, fading into blue and. Then taking a step back, observed the figure, a djinn with hair was as a bright green flowing like a clear waterfall. Horns accessorized with ivy and jewels peering out of the hair, curled downward and reaching the beings cheeks, barely touching, ear's pointed with earrings hanging from them. Wearing a simplistic toga that covered but did not hide everything as it was translucent, although much still couldn't be seen as the flesh was covered on one side, there were was black markings that covered nearly the entire half, revealing some skin in between with spiral patterning here and there.

"You really should be more considerate of someone else's home." The djinn stared down at the pinkette-whom she placed at eighteen."I don't believe you are incapable of speech. At least introduce yourself."

Despite the obvious attempt to coax the girl into talking, she was not giving an inch; if she was going to be moved, it was going to be under her own terms and not the mighty, stunningly elegant female djinn who hovered above her in every manner of speaking.

"It's common etiquette to give your own identity before asking someone else's."

The corner of the djinn's lip curved upwards, her eyes dancing in amusement. "I am Orias, the djinn of transmutation and stability. Now who exactly are you my wild little human?"

The pinkette stared blankly back at the djinn, "Sakura Haruno-your king."

It was in that moment, after that statement that Sakura wondered-no recollected; what had brought her to this point, how she had come to this at last, to the final moments here. Going throughout this year…

* * *

Morning rays of sunlight hitting directly into Sakura's face had the pink haired girl wincing at the silent yet equally annoying wakeup call. Emerald green eyes that appeared faded, highlighted with dark circles, blinked several times; adjusting to the brightness of the room provided by the daylight. Sakura knew that it was time to get up, after all this time, her body was like clockwork, knowing exactly what moment to wake her up regardless of how late she slept.

And it wasn't just the heavy schedule that had her deprived.

Letting the covers slip from her form, she didn't bother to turn her head, knowing the space next to her would no longer be occupied as her lover would have already left to work. Something he had been doing a lot of these past few months. She wanted to talk to him about his sleeping habits, or rather the lack of them but she had not been that much better herself.

Sakura shuffled out of bed, slipping into her regular attire before taking her metal vessels out of a small chest and putting them on. Tightening her headband, adjusting her arm bracelet, strapping her dagger belt and placing her hairpin to her top.

Without looking back she made her way towards the door.

* * *

"Good morning Sakura-sama."

That was the routine greeting that occurred every morning when Sakura entered the Pharmaceuticals research department, by more than over three dozen people. This department was run Sakura and her team of specially selected employees from the Sindria Company. After Serendine's harsh exit almost half a year ago, Sinbad didn't have to do much to convince Sakura to take in more employees to assist and expand the Companies branch in Pharmaceuticals. As most of Sakura's products had been increasing in demand and were also in need of new productions and that meant more workers in the department aside from Sakura.

There was a problem though. Because no one had the advance medical training behind them as Sakura had, she basically started from scratch with a selection of employees. So she had to handle their training on her own and in a short amount of time. Sakura had to find time in her extremely tight schedule to do that. She first had to find and organize reading material for potential co-workers. That alone took up a lot of her evenings as she crammed three months of material in one month and compiled it into readers for the applicants.

After that she had to create several written tests based on the relevant reading materials, another month gone. In that she had lost more than half of her applicants. She had deliberately made the first test extremely advanced for the purpose of rooting out those that were determined to do their jobs right. The Pharmaceuticals department needed employees that were alert, thorough, had sharp minds and were patient because out of all the other departments in Sindria trading company, Sakura's was the most liable. If defective goods from that department were handed out to the public, the damage could be irreversible.

Those who made it through the written part of the evaluation then went on to the practical tests, which cut down the number of applicants again but not as much as the written test had. Being pressed for time had put Sakura under pressure to train as many workers as she realistically could. The upside was that Sakura, already having been in the position as the applicant's years ago, was able to make the best decision and had ended up with more employees than expected for the first recruitment.

Now she was working with the substantial amount of employees under her. She had been able to leave them to create the current products while she continued to create new ones and improved on others.

After the first group of employees were officiated, the department for Sindria's Pharmaceuticals were expanded. Along with the increase in workers-was an increase in work space. The room they operated in was large enough to accommodate all the necessary equipment, employees and products. Despite the new space, it was quickly transformed into a larger version of Sakura's previous workspace and obtained the previous attributes. Including the strong herbal smell.

Sakura began her routine checkup, going around the different areas to inspect. There were separate areas for the different types of products produced, ranging from herbal medicines, to food pills and anti-venoms. While Sakura was making her rounds at the different tables, going through several charts and doing a bit of quality inspections; a young women, with tanned skin, shoulder length dark hair and hazel eyes came up to Sakura holding several folded scrolls neatly in her arms. She held a neutral expression as she went over to the pinkette, not the least bit deterred the tower of parchment covering most of her upper body.

"Good morning, Sakura-sama."

Sakura smiled back to the girl, "Hello Aisha."

Since the first test, Sakura had found Aisha to be one of the most promising applicants and had a certainty that she was going to make it to the end of the training and she did. She had been determined to make it into the new department and Sakura found out why immediately after she was hired. Aisha had heard of Sakura's medical abilities and was looking to expand her knowledge in the medical field as more than just a Pharmaceuticals developer but as an actual physician. And she wanted Sakura to train her.

Although Sakura had taught the new recruits how to create medicinal products and such, she hadn't taught them how to properly administer them nor any other form of medical practices that would qualify them as physicians. The reason for this is because it would've resulted in a much longer training regime that they did not have time for. Sakura explained this to Aisha several times but the girl would not let up and was persistent as she was determined. So Sakura had agreed to begin training her, although it couldn't be fulltime. By far all she did was give Aisha some separate material to study and a few general first aid practices but she was going to move on to more advanced training with her at a later date in the year.

When Sakura had given Aisha an entire long list of readings to do, she almost felt sorry for the girl when her face fell at the large stack that was arranged for her. It took Sakura back to a time when she was training under Tsunade and the women had given her nearly and entire library to read which took nearly three months to complete. However Sakura was impressed when the girl managed to make it through the first month and decided to seriously take Aisha under her.

Therefore Aisha had become Sakura's assistant.

"Things seem to be in order, what do we have for today?" Sakura asked as she walked to the door on the other side of the room, which led to her office.

While she still shared an office with Sinbad and helped him; it was barely half of her day since most of it was taken up with this new department. Thus she and Sinbad were kept separate for a good portion of time.

"We're a bit behind on making the food pills for today's shipment and we're not sure if we're going to be able to fill in all the orders. We don't' have enough hands in that section. That along with the teas are in high demand. The other medicines will definitely be finished on time."

Sakura crossed her arms, despite the current compilation of employees, orders continued to go through this department and it was still difficult to keep up with demand at times. Especially at a time like this when Sindria Trading Company was pushing new projects with the most promise.

"Alright, um which sector would you say doesn't need as much attention for today?" Sakura asked, walking to her desk that sat with scrolls and paper standing tall and waiting for her attention, while most of her office walls were occupied with shelves. Despite the stacks of work, Sakura continued to keep her office orderly so she wouldn't end up losing any important documents. Something both she and Sinbad had learned a long time ago not to do when you are running a company.

Aisha barely thought for a moment before she responded equally. "The anti-venom shipment are only due in two days so I suppose that would be the right sector. However they are still in demand, Heliohapt and Cartago are in the Dark Continent which has an array of poisonous animals and plants that were without antidote-until you began making them Miss Haruno."

Sakura drew in a large breath and exhaled, then pinching the bridge of her nose until an idea came to mind. "Alright, take off half of the staff from the anti-venom section for the food pills. If we're behind, I'll just finish up myself before the shipping dates. Keep me up to date on progress; I'm going to try and perform a miracle over here and finish all of this today." Sakura directed Aisha's view to the piles of paper work. "I've also got some new ideas for products that I'm going to start on today, but until I can confirm which have a possibility of being valid can you make sure-

"That no one outside of the department hears about it, or you'll have to stay up all night figuring out the product like last time." Aisha finished, turning back to the door.

"Thank you Aisha." Sakura waved as the girl left her office. Sakura reached or her quill and began on the first scroll….

* * *

As the hours went by, the stack on Sakura's desk lessened, even though she knew there was another desk that was probably doing its own piling. She had been using shadow clones for days now and at a certain point, she had to draw back and give herself a brief resting period.

After completing most of the documents for the day, Sakura went to her own table set on one side of the office with all of her own personal selection of herbs and equipment for personal use and experiments. No one else was allowed to tamper with her work. Currently she was brewing a very foul smelling concoction, it was meant to stiffen and settle to cream substance to relieve muscle pains but the smell was almost too much to stand and because it was currently being heated, it would remain in liquid form until left to settle.

"This should do it." Sakura said to herself, waving her hand over the fumes, feeling tingling in her overworked hands. The small fire, set on the table was boiling the mix and creating steam. Taking a glass jar that stood alone with several other containers she brought out three Roka seeds and threw them into the mix before stirring with a stick. Sakura found that the seeds sweetened bitter tasting medicines and neutralized smell.

Once the smoke faded, she stopped and set the pot on one side of the table. Going back to her desk to complete her work.

'It should be ready tomorrow.'

Then Sakura heard the distinct sound of wood shifting then glass breaking, several voices growing in panic and immediately rushed out of the office to see what had happened.

Following the pointed stares at one of the sections, Sakura saw a man on the floor, curled up and clutching his arm tightly, there was a visible spot of dampness on his clothes, mixed with red and there was also a strong smell in the air that burned her nose.

"What happened!?" Sakura demanded, kneeling down in front of the man to pull him up, lifting him easily and setting him against the wall, away from the mess.

Aisha appeared beside Sakura hurriedly.

"He slipped and fell into the shards. The bottle contains poison for one of our anti-venoms!"

"What poison?" Sakura placed her hand on the man's damp forehead, before forcing his mouth open none too gently and shoving her fingers inside, all while keeping a composed expression. She then started removing his top to get a better idea of where exact the wound was and saw several small shards of glass stuck in his arm, splatter with blood, the skin turning a sick navy blue.

"A black stripped bat spider, I believe. The venom is fast acting." Aisha informed.

"Get me some cloth now."

One of the on lookers ran and returned quickly with a dry wash cloth, on instant when it was handed to Sakura, the pinkette ripped it to create a ribbon and tied it tightly on the man's forearm, just above his wounds.

"Aisha, grab my tweezers and make sure they are clean. Also get the anti-venom for the poison."

Aisha immediately went to do as Sakura had instructed but then she called out. "There isn't any anti-venom made yet! We won't be able to make one in time to save him!"

There were worried mumbles all around but Sakura silenced them with a firm raise of her voice.

"Enough!"

Frowning, Sakura took the tweezers from Aisha when they were handed to her and start to quickly remove the glass shards, the purple blotches of skin made it easier for Sakura to see the shards. Sakura didn't look back to Aisha as she called on her again.

"Aisha, got to my office and suck in the back shelves, there's a jar of green liquid without a label. Pour that into a bucket of water and bring it here now."

Without question, Aisha rushed into Sakura's office. Sakura listened to the man's breathing, which was growing heavier but more constricted. Aisha called for everyone that had gathered around to step back as she came through with the pale of water.

"Alright, now I need help holding him down."

Three other co-workers stepped forward quickly, crouching down to restrain the man's weakening form, holding down his legs and arm.

"Get ready."

Sakura placed her hand over the liquid solution, her hand glowing of chakra. As she drew it back from the bucket, nearly half of the liquid in the pale had followed, following her hand and held beneath her palm as if floating on its own. Sakura placed it over the man's arm. Using chakra, she pushed the liquid into his skin, through the tissue.

Closing her eyes, Sakura started to gather the poison from the cells and muscle tissue, gathering as much as she could since she would only be able to do this once. Using her chakra to draw the poison into the liquid like a conductor. She then withdrew the liquid and as she did, the man started screaming and withering with what little strength he had in an attempt to get away from the source of pain. Soon enough Sakura had managed to withdraw the poison. She placed her hand back over the pale. Stopping her chakra and allowing the bubble to drop into the bucket, taking on its round shape once more, now filled with blotches of purple in it.

Sighing, Sakura stood up after instructing the workers to take the injured man to rest somewhere else in the room while she went over the table where the glass was dropped. She told someone to clean up the shattered glass and to make sure they wore gloves while she quickly made an antidote.

Aisha watched the pinkette from behind while she started in the anti-venom. All while keeping a calm demeanor.

"Tilt your head back." Sakura instructed the man softly, lifting his chin while pressing her thumb down to open his mouth. She placed the cup to his mouth and poured the antidote into his mouth before quickly sealing his mouth to ensure he swallowed all of it.

"Okay, good." Sakura placed the cup to the side and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be just fine."

"Thank you Haruno-sama."

* * *

After properly healing the wound, Sakura gave the worker the day off and took over the shift instead, even while she had plenty of work to keep her busy. She had already cut the amount of workers for the day and gave them the job of getting that day's shipment done on time. Which they managed to do. Sakura on the other hand, remained behind as she did most days while everyone else's shifts ended. That was in the later afternoon, on the last end of sunset.

When Sakura was able to return to her office to finish the paperwork, she found Aisha waiting for her.

"Is something wrong Aisha?" Sakura asked, stepping over to her desk and sitting down.

Aisha stood in front of the desk, appearing to forcefully hold herself up straight as possible. "Sakura-sama, will you teach me that technique?"

Sakura raised her eyebrows, leaning against her hands on the desk. "Technique?"

"The one you used to extract the poison." Aisha clarified.

Sakura realized she was referring to one of her medical jutsu and sighed, "Aisha, that isn't possible."

Aisha frowned, "But you know I'm a quick study, I won't take up your time! I'll learn fast."

"It won't matter." Sakura said, holding up her hand when she noticed the girl was ready to protest once again.

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot teach you certain techniques because they are only applicable to me." Sakura shuffled some papers around on her desk and found some reports to finish before going to see Sinbad to deliver documents that required his signature. "You may go Aisha."

The girl still had some fight in her eyes, but she saw the way the pinkette had clamped herself. She wasn't going to explain anymore to her than that and she was already behind on her work because of the incident earlier that day. Aisha bowed her head in respect and left.

Although most of the members of Sindria company were aware of Sakura's odd abilities. It was seldom anyone had asked about them. Even Sinbad hadn't been persistent in finding out about her list of skills that were beyond normal human abilities.

Thinking back to today, Sakura couldn't help but smile a little. It had been a while since she used her healing abilities for any reason. For a moment, she felt like something had come back to her and even though it was fleeting, she appreciated getting a taste of it.

" _You seem to be in good spirits now my king." Beleth observed._

" _Which is strange considering the mountain of work standing on your desk." Gaap chimed in._

" _Exactly, so why are you smiling?" asked Sitri_

Sakura opened her mouth, wanting to reply out loud since she was the only one in the faculty now, but then an image flashed and Sinbad's voice sounded within her head.

" _Let it go."_

Her face fell and she turned back to her work, looking for distraction.

'It's nothing.'

* * *

Sakura stared blankly at her reflection as she brushed through her hair, mixing in the oils she had to set in so that it would keep her hair straight instead of having its usual wild tinge and sharp ends. A while back, she had stopped caring to really keep her hair compared to when she was twelve because it was too much of a hassle. Hence why she preferred her hair as short as possible. Though Sinbad had continued to argue with her about growing her hair out and she gave in.

While preparing for bed, she told Sinbad about the day's incident with the accidental poisoning. Because of that, she hadn't been able to hand in her reports for the day.

"It's okay, you can give them in tomorrow." Sinbad said, coming up behind her, he took the brush from Sakura's hand and started combing through her hair himself. He really enjoyed the feeling of brushing through her hair and running his fingers through her growing locks. So far her hair was barely at her shoulders, it grew very slowly. "I'm just glad you were there to help, who knows what might have happened to him if you weren't."

Sakura made a soft humming sound in response, resting her hands in her lap. Relaxing as she felt the brush run through her hair. It was a different sensation to have someone else do small things like this for you. Especially when it was Sinbad. And for a moment-she was able to forget everything.

"How are things going in your department? Aside from the occasional poisoning?"

After chuckling for the dry joke, Sakura answered. "Everything's on track, it's still a bit of an effort to keep up with market demand since there's been in an increase in orders but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Why don't you just have another recruitment evaluation?" Sinbad chided.

Sakura frowned, "Sinbad, another recruitment evaluation would mean I'd have to sort out reading material, tests, practical's….it's a lot of work."

"Have some of your current members help you." Sinbad suggested.

Turning her body sideways to face Sinbad, Sakura shook her head. "They are still getting accustomed to their positions, they aren't able to train new recruits yet. They've only been working for a few weeks. Don't worry about production, I can get things done."

"I know," Sinbad sighed. "It's just, construction on the island has been going very well, in fact they're ahead according to reports so we might end up leaving sooner than expected. So before then….

"You need me to pick someone to take over the branch here with enough employees because the department is going to split." Sakura finished, understanding.

"Exactly and the Pharmaceuticals are making good money and showing potential of increasing profits but once we move you're going to be busy there and you need someone who can take over for you."

Holding her chin, Sakura thought about the situation. Depending on how much time she had left, she would most likely only be able to perform one more recruitment.

A large portion of their profits went towards the island's expenses, Sakura even put up the rest of her dungeon treasure to help with the pay-off. Renovation for the island was also a big cost in itself and there was the palace which was being built from the ground up.

"Alright, I'll start working on the second recruitment tomorrow."

Smiling, Sinbad gave Sakura a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, Sakura."

Taking her hand, Sinbad brought Sakura to stand and began leading her towards the bed. The pinkette took a final glance at herself in the mirror, her hair swaying lightly and peaking from behind her shoulder.

The lightest bristle of disdain overcame her, like the brush of a feather before it was gone.

* * *

" _You liar."_

" _Please…."_

" _Liar…."_

 _She reached out towards him. "I'm sorry."_

" _Liar."_

 _Her voice was soft as she pleaded, barely a whisper but the desperation was evident on her face as she attempted to grasp the figure. "Forgive me..."_

" _LIAR."_

Pushing the covers frantically off of her, like it was a weighted net crushing her body, Sakura sat up quickly. Her chest rising and falling in quick, heavy heaves, her body wrapped in a cold sweat. Barely aware of the morning sun shining through the open window. She couldn't see it though, she couldn't feel the warmth; she felt cold. Even after her breathing had regulated, she felt like she might stop all together.

It was always the same. The same nightmare, the same setting, the same montage and it always left the same bitter aftertaste in her mouth that stayed with her for hours. Making it difficult to eat despite her hunger, to swallow anything despite her thirst. It was as if her body was torturing itself.

The only spontaneous thing about the nightmare was that it didn't appear on a loop; it was sudden, unexpected, there on some nights and gone on other's.

Shoving away the rest of the covers, Sakura prepared herself for the day. Rushing to get out of the room and to work where she could distract herself for the longest times possible.

* * *

The morning had barely begun for Sakura when her office door was almost kicked down by a very distressed looking Vittel, holding dozens of documents wrapped in his hands, it made the pinkette wonder how he walked without tripping given that his vision appeared blocked.

Setting her quill down, Sakura leaned back in her chair. "Vittel…..what's the problem?"

Taking a few steps to stand in front of her, Vittel turned to the side to face Sakura. "I'm in trouble, Ja'far is going to kill me!"

"Vittel," Sakura paused, "That doesn't explain anything because lately Ja'far's been trying to 'kill' everyone."

"I was supposed to have these accounts finished literally yesterday and hand them into Ja'far."

"But you didn't." Sakura concluded.

Vittel nodded, "The works a bit more than I was expecting and I accidently fell asleep yesterday at my desk and I still have today's work to finish, so I was wondering if you aren't too busy-I mean I know you are it's just-

Without needing further explanation, Sakura lifted her hand and gestured for Vittel to set the documents on her desk. "I'll take care of it Vittel. Leave the documents there and go and do todays work."

Vittel letting out a breath, slacking slightly forward. "Thank you Sakura. You can call on me anytime if you need help over here."

Sakura waved her hand, smiling softly. "Don't worry about it. Just go to work and tell Ja'far that he'll find the completed accounting documents with me."

With several 'thank you' until he reached the door, Vittel left Sakura's department and the pinkette put aside her work to take a look at the accounts that were meant to be done 'yesterday'.

* * *

Two hours and Sakura had completed all of the accounts in what was her record time-mainly in thanks to her shadow clone. After, she was able to resume her own work. Having enough working behind a desk and writing, Sakura started on her research for new products. Standing at her separate desk of herbs and equipment, Sakura went to crushing some herbs together in as shallow bowl, grinding it until it was nearly a powder before throwing it into another bowl of boiling water. Watching as it merged together with the liquid, as its contents softened, breaking into the smallest particles.

While she was stirring, she heard a sound that she couldn't make out, her head whipped to the other side of the room at the window. Her eyes widened as she saw Masrur crouching down on the windowsill with Sharrkan on his back, holding onto the Fanalis boy's shoulders and looking ready to regurgitate his lunch.

"What are you boys doing here?" Sakura asked, stepping over to the window. The hand she placed on her hip still holding onto the stirring stick.

Sharrkan quickly jumped off of Masrur's back, swaying a bit to get to his sense of gravity. "We-we just came to see you."

Leaning forward, Sakura held Sharrkan in place until his dizzy spell passed. Her office was on the top floor of the building and it wasn't a ways that someone could simply climb. Of course she knew that it was Masrur who had taken the initiative of getting the two up to her office window.

"Well next time use the front door; it's not that hard to walk here."

Sharrkan rubbed the back of his head, looking down at his feet. "Um, we couldn't really do that."

Sakura raised her eyebrow, sensing that something was amiss now because Sharrkan and Masrur together usually resulted in some form of mischief. "Why is that?"

Masrur interjected, his face still. "We're hiding."

It sunk in instantly. At this time of day, Masrur had to attend Rurumu's lessons with the other children and because he had been having a bit of a hard time getting along with everyone, Sharrkan was told to attend the lessons as well to associate with the other children in the company but Masrur was not a quick study and Sharrkan was still timid when it came to dealing with children his own age.

Slapping her forehead, Sakura sighed. "You're cutting class again?"

"Yes." The boy's replied.

"Ja'far knows all of our old hiding places, so we came here." Sharrkan muttered, puffing his cheeks slightly.

"The two of you can't keep ditching classes because you don't feel comfortable." Sakura's face softened as she gazed at the two boys who were looking at her with wide eyes. "If you want to make friends, you're going to have to interact with the other kids."

Masrur and Sharrkan stood silently, starring at Sakura until she smiled at them. "Well, that's for another day. You guys can hideout in here but be careful-I'm still working."

* * *

What Sakura found out about having two young boys in a confined space was that it triggered a new degree of irritability. Sharrkan-who had been restricted most of his life and Masrur-who had little discipline given his nature, along with Sakura's office, made for the worst concoction. It had barely take more than half an hour before Masrur and Sharrkan were chasing each other around, attempting to drag one another to the ground.

Sakura didn't know who it was that lost patience first but it had resulted in this, Sharrkan chasing Masrur around with his sword and then Masrur making a turn around to chase after Sharrkan-no weapons required.

For a while Sakura had attempted to ignore their raving, but eventually Sakura lost her composure when Masrur and Sharrkan accidently knocked into her desk and her hand slipped while writing, in which she ended up ruining her parchments contents and would now require a rewrite.

"Okay that's enough!"

Sliding abruptly out of her chair, its legs scraping against the floor and probably leaving marks. Sakura marched over to Masrur and Sharrkan. Picking them up at the back of their clothes and lifting them in the air, she spread her arms wide apart to keep the distance between them both.

"You two need to settle down right now."

"But-

Sakura looked at the both of them sharply which seemed to be the key for silencing the two. "If you keep this up, I'm going to call the spooky big brother and tell him where you are. Do you want that?"

'Spooky big brother' was the title Ja'far had been labelled with on account of Sinbad. Of course Ja'far was only ever referred to by that name in his absence.

"No…"

"No Sakura," Sharrkan swallowed.

Feeling Masrur and Sharrkan go slack in the air, she set them back on the floor. "Alright, now no more fighting. Isn't there something else you want to do?"

"When can we train again?" Masrur asked, although there was a tinge of wanting in his voice.

Sharrkan held up his fingers. "Masrur! You're not supposed to ask her that! Sakura's busy with work."

Sakura's eyes softened. With everything happening in the Company, Sakura had to put a lot of her own agenda on hold, which included training with Sharrkan and Masrur.

"I'm sorry." Sakura kneeled down, throwing her arms over the two and embracing them. "I know we haven't trained in a while but things are extremely demanding at the company right now."

"We know." Sharrkan said, looking back up at Sakura. "But it's not really the training that we care about…."

"Then what is it?" Sakura asked, tilting her head sideways.

"You." Masrur replied blankly, causing Sharrkan and Sakura to turn their heads to him in surprise. "We don't see you anymore."

Breathing out her soft laughter, Sakura stood up straight, "Well, I think that we can take a little break."

While Sakura couldn't leave the office in case there were any incidents like yesterday, but she called in Aisha and told her that she needed to have an extra-large lunch brought to her office, with some sweets. A good way to keep someone immobilized was to talk and tell them what they craved to hear. This was what Sakura did for Masrur and Sharrkan. She told them a story.

Knowing that their backgrounds and previous childhood experiences wouldn't allow their minds to fall victims to fairy tales and happily ever after's. Sakura opted for something a little different.

"Okay, once there were two boys; one was of Light and the other of Dark. Light and Dark, were complete opposites of each other and would fight whenever they meet. Although the two hated each other, they had something in common-they were always alone. See, both of Light and Dark's parents were gone and they had no friends. Light had a demon sealed inside of him and everyone feared him because of it. Dark had a problem with his eyes, part of his sight was stolen and he couldn't see the good in anything anymore. One day, Light and Dark were placed to work together and although they hated each other, they could work together perfectly, in sync and without needing to say a word. Like they rehearsed it." Sakura paused; she rubbed her eyes before continuing. "After a while, Light and Dark became friends."

"I don't understand." Sharrkan chided. Leaning into Sakura's side, his eyelids beginning to grow heavy. "If they hated one another how did they become friends?"

Sakura smiled, "You see there was a girl who had to work with them and she was in love with Dark, but he didn't love her back; while Light did but she thought he was always getting in her way. Meanwhile, she was the one always getting in their way. When they had to work or fight, then the girl always stood back because she couldn't do anything. Dark always called her up on it and Light would always come in to defend her, so the two would end up fighting. Then…one day-the girl just disappeared. No one knew where she went but after she left, the two boys were able to become friends again."

"Why did the girl disappear?" asked Masrur.

Sakura shrugged, rolling her lips together before replying. "See, that girl didn't understand the boys the way they understood each other. She was always standing in the way of their friendship. So the world decided to throw her out and sent her far away where she wouldn't be able to bother the friends again."

"So…..she was the bad person in the story?" asked Sharrkan.

Sakura could feel her heart contracting painfully but responded. "I guess she was."

A few minutes later, Masrur and Sharrkan and fallen asleep on the couch and Sakura resumed her work. Although Sakura was only partially present as she sorted through the paperwork. She continued to go back to her story. Something she had made up, yet thinly based on her own life and it made her think back to times she wasn't supposed to remember.

'You let all that go.' She told herself, looking out the window, viewing half a view of the setting sun on the horizon.

A sharp knock on the door along with Ja'far entering, woke Sakura from her unwanted train of thought as the weary looking boy stepped in.

"Hey Sakura, Vittel said you had the account documents."

Pointing to the neat pile on the right hand corner of her desk, Sakura watched Ja'far sigh with relief. He must have been anxious about what happened to the documents if it wasn't with their accountant.

"Thanks Sakura, I know you're working hard here. I'll talk to Vittel about these favors."

Snickering, Sakura shook her head. "It's fine. He needed help."

The white haired boy muttered something under his breath, probably nothing good about Vittel. As he was about to reach for the scrolls, he heard the soft snoring and turned around, making a small noise in surprise when he saw Masrur and Sharrkan sleeping on Sakura's couch.

"So they were here! We've been looking for them all day!"

Sakura put her finger to her lips, making the sign for silence. Then she told Ja'far about how they decided to skip their classes and hide out in her office for the afternoon.

"I'll deal with them when they wake up. I've got to get this work done." Ja'far exhaled, he started rubbing his temples, feeling a headache ready to come along. He had been looking for them for nearly three hours all over the building, checking their regular hiding places with no luck and he had gotten extremely worried. So for it to turn out that they were lounging in Sakura's office did not set him off well.

No amount of assassin training or experience was enough to help him handle what was the pit of disaster known as his friends-not to mention their reckless leader.

"Ja'far." Sakura called. She waited for him to turn back to her before she beckoned him towards her. He walked around the desk without any questions aside from signing with a curious expression. Sakura reached out with both arms, her hands on Ja'far's face before she pinched his cheeks and tugged lightly, making the boy squirm.

"W-What-are you doing?"

Sakura's serious expression contrasted with her actions as she started rubbing Ja'far's cheeks in circular motions, causing the boy to make odd faces that wouldn't be possible consciously. "Stop worrying."

"Huh?" Ja'far grumbled, attempting to pry Sakura's hands away.

"It's not healthy, I haven't heard of someone your age getting a heart attack but I'm pretty sure it's possible. Plus, if that doesn't happen, your hairs are going to fall out-never mind going grey because it's obviously too late for that."

Ja'far frowned, although his expression failed in portraying his feelings since Sakura was twisting it manually. Laughing, Sakura released Ja'far's face, sitting silently as the boy rubbed his cheeks now tinged red.

"You know Ja'far, if you are having trouble you can always come to me." Sakura leaned back into her chair and turned her head to the window. "I'm here."

Ja'far shook his head. "It's just that I need to sort out the budget and work out another invoice for building materials and it has to be done quickly."

"Well then," Sakura clapped her hands together, causing Masrur and Sharrkan to shift in their sleep in reaction but they did not wake. "How does tonight sound?"

Ja'far knew that it wasn't a question Sakura was asking-it was a statement.

* * *

Ja'far had a simple room to suite his tastes with white painted walls, a closet, bed and nightstand beside it. He didn't have many items aside from his weapons and with the workload he got that constantly pilled on his desk, he preferred it if his room remained uncluttered and free of any distracting ornamental objects, so that he had one place where he could keep peace of mind. He and Sakura were sitting on his bed, with an oil lamp burning on top of the nightstand, going over several scrolls.

"So you've had to increase the palaces expense budget three times already?" Sakura squinted her eyes as she looked down at the scroll. They had been working through the budget for the island's renovation for nearly four hours and the constant sight of numbers were beginning to take its toll on the two.

Ja'far nodded, sitting crossed-legged and leaning on his hand. "The palace is literally being built from the ground up so it's expected. It's just that Sinbad keeps adding or changing his ideas for design and building materials so the costs keep shifting. He's fickle about this."

Sakura fell silent, staring blankly at the sheet of paper, but looking straight through it, the words and numbers unable to reach her mind through her eyes. The palace was being partially built on the plot cleared of the military research facility. The thought caused a bitter taste to creep into Sakura's mouth. Her mind took her to the darkest parts of her memory of the island and the research facility, the shrill cries for help blocking her sense of reality in that moment.

Ja'far stared at Sakura, over the months they were all so busy there was hardly a moment to breathe, let alone get together and calmly embrace each other's company like they use to. It was all for the sake of building their country; everyone knew that.

When Ja'far looked at Sakura now, he was really able to look at her and not just catch a glimpse while she was handing him papers, unloading cargo or giving brief greetings while they rushed through the hallways passed each other. A trickle of worry set in at what he saw.

"Sakura; are you alright?"

The pinkette appeared taken aback by the question, her pink eyebrows knitted together. As an assassin, you were trained to lie and deceive as well as detect lies and deceit and when it came down to the final decision, it was all about trusting your, your natural instincts. However, despite the years Ja'far had known Sakura, he still couldn't understand her. She was different, in the simplest sense. The only time he really knew her was when she was with Sinbad because the two operated together, spoke in a pattern and even breathed in sync. Although individually, she was still a mystery.

Sakura smiled back at Ja'far, her hair falling over the side of her face, hiding most of it.

"Of course Ja'far. I'm fine."

* * *

While Sakura was already occupied with her new department, and helping with the paper work. She still did manual labor, which included retrieving and delivering stock with Hinahoho, Drakon and Masrur. They operated on a system for the week, two would unload and take the stock back to the company and the other two would deliver the stock to the ships that were leaving Balbadd. It was Drakon and Sakura's turn to retrieve the goods, there were carriages that went into the harbor to collect the merchandise but it spared a trip, thus time when they went along.

People starred on when they saw a large, cloaked figure with a tower of bags being carried on his back and a small petite girl carrying several, large bags over her head.

"We've got to hurry up." Sakura said. "Everyone's going to be waiting to restock."

Drakon nodded. Their recent shipment had been late on account of the annual storms, which made for rough seas. So the company had fallen behind on sales and delivery.

"It's the third time in almost two months," Sakura grumbled. "We can't even use our air routes because of the change in weather."

"All storms will pass eventually."

"I hope for our sake it's soon."

As the two continued along the cobble stone roads, Sakura heard some snickering as they passed a group four men, loitering near a store with bottles in their hands, face red and barely keeping balance. Their eyes trailed the two and Drakon and Sakura could hear their footsteps trailing after them.

"What do you think of this broad boys? Pretty strong huh?"

Another laughed, "She can pick me up any time."

"Pretty nice ass too."

"Hey little strong lady; care to have a drink with us?"

Drakon growled softly, turning to Sakura who just kept her eyes straight ahead and kept walking.

She whispered to Drakon. "Just ignore them."

"That is no way for them to be talking to a lady. They are disrespectful."

Since Drakon had devoted himself to Sinbad, he had gained a new respect, not only for Sinbad but for her as well and although she had told him she wanted to just be addressed as Sakura-as everyone else did; Drakon tended to slip from time to time, calling her 'Lady Sakura' and Sakura would always tell him the same thing.

Sakura laughed softly, smiling, "I'm no lady Drakon. They're drunk, I doubt it'll be long before they're dry heaving."

However, what Drakon heard next, snapped his thread of anger.

"I got a load I'd like her to carry."

Dropping the stock, Drakon turned around, stomping straight towards the men, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He towered over the drunk men, who were watching him with hazy eyes, hardly able to comprehend the danger they were truly in.

"Listen here you-

"Drakon!" Sakura set the bags down and walked towards her friend, pulling on his cloak from behind. "Calm down. These men haven't done anything but throw around words."

Still growling, Drakon turned back to Sakura, asking permission to take action but he could see the stern look in her eyes would not allow him and he was not foolish. He had seen her strength and he did not want to be on the receiving end of it. However, his temper was hard to reel back after he was ready to throw it out.

Sakura looked back at the men, putting a hand on her hip. "Pardon my friend; I hope you can forgive him."

The men appeared please with Sakura's interjection, leering at her, she heard their indiscrete muttering to one another as they looked at her, as if they were examining the quality of meat in a butcher. She heard, 'kinda' small' and 'doable'.

"It's no problem at all."

"Some people just don't have manners."

One of the men approached her, he put his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Don't worry *hic* about it little lady. He's forgiven."

Sakura continued to smile. "Good."

Then in a flash, the man touching her, was laying on the ground, face down, his one arm held in a painfully powerful grip, twisting towards his back causing his muscles to strain. Sakura was standing with her feet apart, holding the man's wrist in a vice grip. She tilted her head to the side, lifting her chin, her eyes slightly narrowed with a threatening expression.

"Of course; I couldn't care less if you forgave me" Sakura began, looking back at the three men who had taken several steps away from the pinkette while starring down at their friend. The fear Sakura injected into them, seemed to assist in sobering them up a bit.

Sakura forced the man to stand, dragging him up by his wrist and then pushing him harshly towards the rest of his group. "Leave now, unlike you boys we actually have somewhere to be."

With that, Sakura took Drakon's large hand and pulled him towards their stock.

The man that Sakura had pinned to the ground seconds ago, had taken his mix of anger and humiliation that turned towards Sakura. He picked up a stone lying on the ground, pulling his arm back before launching it forward, releasing the stone.

"You crazy bitch!"

The rock didn't reach Sakura before she could catch it, because a large, green scaled, claw caught the rock, then crushing it into dust.

"Do not throw rocks at a lady."

Drakon had moved so fast, the hood of his cloak fell off which had earned a lot of horrified stares from onlookers, some became paralyzed by fear while others ran away-including the drunk men.

"AAAAHHH"

"W-WHAT IS THAT THING?"

"IT'S-IT'S A DRAGON"

"M-MONSTER!"

The entire block around the harbor had been cleared completely, the only sound was the ocean waves and the breeze that bumped the boats against the bridges and rattled the old wooden planks on roofs.

Holding out his hand, Drakon stared at it silently. Then he began to see it, the images he had planted into his mind from a third persons stand point, of when he had fled Parthevia with Serendine, after he had transformed, how they had struggled to make it through the nights and days that seemed endless in exile. How he had nearly lost control of himself when they were attacked in the forest and how he almost lost his humanity. Hearing people cry monster, reminded him of that and only that. It erased all other moments form his mind. The time he was human. The time he had spent in Parthevia as a devoted solider. All of it, was gone just like that.

"Drakon."

Then, a smaller hand fell over his own and he had to search for the person it belonged to, meeting emerald green eyes. Although Drakon already knew it was Sakura, he was surprised. Because when he looked at the girl standing in front of him, holding her hand on top of his, he did not see what he expected. He expected either fear or pity but instead he was met with a smile.

"Drakon; are you just going to stand here all day? Come on, everyone's waiting for us."

Sakura pulled away, going back towards the stock they had dropped for a second time. She picked them up and turned back to him as he still had not moved.

"Let's go."

Drakon walked quietly over to the bags and picked up his share and they once again resumed their walk. After he began to settle into the silence, when he had relaxed, Sakura chose to break from it.

"Not a lady."

Drakon turned his head down, to the pinkette. "What?"

"I've said this before, I'm not a lady-any more than you are a monster. So stop calling me that" Sakura stated, keeping her eyes ahead.

Eyes widening, Drakon shook his head. "But you are-

Sakura cut Drakon off with a stern expression. It was comical considering how they would have been perceived to strangers. "I am a girl with the strength to destroy landscapes, pick up giant boulders and create a rockslides; I do not inherit anything-including a name for the title 'lady'." Sakura inhaled deeply, her voice calm but just as quick and steady. "You, are a noble of Parthevia, who remained loyal to your country's monarchy even after their undoing. You remained loyal to your friends. You are far more refined, behaved and skilled than most men and you actually have common sense. Therefore you are not a monster-and I am not a lady, do you understand?"

Sakura then added, with a bitter smile. "I'm actually more of a monster than you."

Drakon opened his mouth, closed it and then opened it again when he was able to find the courage to speak. "Sakura, you shouldn't say such things about yourself. You've done more than enough to be called a lady. That includes everything you do for the person you love. As for me…before coming here-I have done things that-

"You are not a monster Drakon." Sakura stated again, equally firm. As she knew, he was going to bring up past events. "I know that because I believe it. I believe that you are not a monster and so does everyone else at the company-your friends, don't think you're a monster either. Take the opinions of strangers over your friends and you are going to breed unhappiness for the rest of your life. A friend will always see the light in you; but more than that, they will also see the dark and accept you. Sinbad has done that-with all of us."

Drakon kept silent, although he was now thinking of the purple haired boy.

"All our paths, now lead to Sinbad." Sakura swallowed, blinking rapidly before clearing her throat. "So have some pride, keep your chin up, because real monsters-they're the ones who work hard to look human and by the time people realize what they truly are, it's too late."

Sakura stopped walking, turning up to Drakon. "And one more thing…"

Holding up her hand, Sakura leaned forward slightly, making a come hither motion with her hands. Drakon leaned down, assuming that what Sakura was about to say she didn't want anyone else to hear, even though they were the only ones in the area. When Drakon had leaned down to Sakura's height, she drew her index finger to rest at the tip of her thumb, placed it at Drakon's forehead, added a bit of chakra and flicked it forward.

Drakon touched his forehead with his free hand, actually feeling a sharp sting when she made contact with his hard skin. Sakura laughed, fully heartedly.

"Stop with that serious expression-you'll give yourself wrinkles."

 _Serendine stood in front of him, she came forward as he continued to kneel in respect. He had been assigned to lead the group that were tasked to capture the dungeon and he promised to succeed, to insure that the princess's name would remain untarnished._

 _Drakon's serious expression and determined eyes were wiped away with a simple flick on his forehead, delivered by the princess herself. She let out a soft laugh as he touched his head._

" _Don't be so serious. Your forehead will get wrinkled."_

The breeze was blowing Sakura's hair to one side, her face being overshadowed by her pink locks, with her closed eyes and smile in place, Drakon felt an overwhelming wave of nostalgia and spoke.

"Princess Serendine."

That wave, like most, was quick and passing and Drakon made to quickly fix what he thought was a fatal error. "My apologies Sakura, for a moment, you reminded me of-

"Serendine." Sakura nodded, holding up her hand. "It's flattering, that I remind you of someone like her…Thank you Drakon."

Resuming their errand to deliver the stock to the company, Sakura walked a little ways in front of Drakon. So he would not see her, biting her bottom lip so hard it looked like she was trying to eat it, nor did she want him to know her throat had gone dry and her eyes were glossy.

* * *

Orias's unique colored eyes, did not leave the pinkettes form since she stepped into the djinn's treasury. Resting her elbow on a pile of rubble and leaning on her hand, Orias continued to scrutinize the intriguing girl.

"My king, you say?"

"Yes." Sakura stood, meeting the djinn's eyes.

Orias smiled while scoffing, "What makes you think that I have accepted such a declaration? That I have accepted you as my king?"

"I made it through your dungeon; that qualifies me as the conqueror of it." Sakura stated, holding out her hands at her side.

"You destroyed my dungeon." Orias gestured to the continuously crumbling walls of her palace.

Sakura shrugged, her hair falling over her shoulder when she titled her head to the side. "There's more than one way to reach a goal. To each their own and what would be the use of having four metal vessels already if I couldn't utilize them to get me my fifth?"

"A little arrogant aren't you?" Orias commented but smirking still.

"I'm aware of my own abilities."

Snickering, Orias held out a long finger, jabbing the top of Sakura's head but the girl remained indifferent. This was despite the fact that with a little added weight to her finger, Orias could snap Sakura's head to the back and break her neck.

"You're very interesting."

"I'm an interloper, I'm supposed to be."

Shaking head, moved her hand back, her form began growing smaller, from as tall as the high palace walls, to Sakura's height. Meeting the kunoichi's stature, Orias crossed her arms and started to circle Sakura.

"Even so, you're unusually interesting." Orias rubbed her chin as she continued to circle Sakura, like she was a display. Then after three more turns, Orias pulled back. "And it's obvious you have impressive power. However, as you are an interloper, I know what you really want. Therefore, I will accept you as my king, if you answer me this one question and I am satisfied with your answer."

Sakura didn't blink when she spoke. "Ask me then."

"What are you going to do once you conquer my dungeon interloper?"

* * *

Renovation on the island had gone well with few problems and delays; residential areas were still being built but that wasn't going to be an issue because it was promised to be completed before the deadline. Everyone had spent the last three months working out their last minute travel plans. That included completing their recruitment's training to handle Sindria Company's branch in Balbadd when they moved their base of operations to the island-what would be their country. Obviously Sindria's employees would want to join their president in the new country, therefore in order to keep the company branch's operating, the company started recruiting more employees from their locations and training them so they would know how to work when they left. Sakura had managed to do the same in her department, making Aisha the head manager and recruiting more workers, trained and prepared to take care of things themselves.

The company was especially rowdy that day, because come tomorrow morning; they would be heading to the island. With that happening, work was put on hold for the day to allow everyone to properly prepare. Sinbad had been long gone that morning before Sakura awoke and she knew she probably wasn't going to see him the rest of the day. Which gave Sakura opportunity-one that she had wanted to take for a while, since having conversation with the king of Balbadd.

Later that afternoon, Sakura secured several containers of food that she had made, wrapping it all together neatly in a bundle of cloth to make it easier to carry and left the company without drawing any attention. The sky was completed grey with clouds, promising rain with the loud ramblings that shook through the bodies of the people below. Sakura was no exception. The closer she got to the slums, the more the weather seemed to grow; becoming darker.

" _Remind me again my king, why you are visiting the slums again?" asked Stolas_

'I just want to see how some of the kids are doing.'

" _It looks like you have some particulars in mind." Countered Sitri_

Sakura didn't respond to her, it had been a while since she had seen the children and her discovery on Rashid's relation to Alibaba had open a door of desire to see him once again. She didn't know how she was going to go about seeing him again after realizing the truth of a situation he didn't seem to be aware of; but she was going to see him.

* * *

After wondering around the slums for a while, Sakura finally found her way to Alibaba's home; although just as she crossed the corner she saw and heard something that greatly disturbed her. She saw Anise outside of her small home; talking with a burly man with thick unruly hair, his face decorated with age lines around his eyes and mouth. It looked like a rather hostile conversation from the angle Sakura was standing at-and then she listened to what they were saying.

"Come on Anise." The man started pulling the women by her arm. "I've got the money."

"I said no, my son is going to be coming home soon." Anise struggled against the man's grip. By the red tinge running along his face and hazy eyes nearly blood shot, Sakura could tell that he was actually drunk. Not only did that tend to make a man lack proper motor skills, but also concern and conscience became as thin as a piece of paper, easy to tear apart.

The man roughly yanked Anise by her arm, "You've got two options Anise. You can either give it to me or I can take it."

Then before Anise could response, the man tensed up. The cold sting of a blade licking the back of his neck in warning, he didn't look back to see who had him at knife point until he heard the feminine voice.

"No, you've got two options." Sakura hissed; holding Gaap's blade at the base of the man's neck from behind. "You can either walk away right now with all of you intact or you can stagger away from here in pieces-your choice."

Releasing Anise roughly shoving her to the side and walked away, turning to look at Sakura. He seemed rather surprised when he saw her. He knew from the voice that whoever the holding a knife at him was female, but he wasn't expecting some young girl with pink hair. That seemed to add on to the humiliation, barely comprehended by his alcohol intoxicated mind.

"What the hell you little bitch, you should mind your own business."

Sakura stared at the man, glaring through half lidded eyes, "Oh, are you going with the second option?"

He backed away, eyeing Sakura's blade. He didn't have anything on him and it seemed that he might have sobered up a little as he backed away from her; turning around and stomping off.

"This isn't over you bitches!" he shouted "I'll remember this."

"Assuming you recall during your hangover." Sakura taunted back.

Sakura sighed, sheathing her dagger when she was certain he wouldn't be coming back for a double take. It wouldn't have mattered weather or not Sakura used a weapon, she would have paralyzed the man if she believed it would teach him a lesson.

Sakura turned to Anise, with concern in her eyes and voice.

"Are you alright?"

Anise nodded, her fist clenched above her chest as she released a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Thank you, but what brings you back here?"

Putting on a sweet smile, Sakura held up the cloth of containers, "I actually came here for a visit. Would you mind if I imposed?"

* * *

Anise allowed Sakura into her small home, it was but a tiny space of a single room, there wasn't much in it. With little protection from the weather, as Sakura could feel the drafts from the winds that blew across the city. It must have been especially difficult in winter. The hard floors were covered by carpet-it looked new. Anise told her that she had used some of the gold Sakura gave to buy them. Although Sakura was certain that with the money she had given, Anise could have moved out of the slums (along with some other fortunate parents) into a better area. The treasure wasn't enough to set anyone for life, but it was at least enough to be a bit more comfortable for a while.

"So, you're leaving soon?"

Sakura nodded, taking the cup of tea Anise had offered-she had also used the money to buy other household items. "Tomorrow, I just wanted to see the kids before then."

Anise smiled "That night. When I saw you and heard about what you have done for Alibaba and the other children; I didn't know what to make of it." Anise said as she laid out a tarp, helping Sakura set the food in the middle. "I thought that you may have some other motive."

Sakura gave a small chuckle, "That's understandable. A complete stranger just giving children money for beating her in a game; any parent would be suspicious."

"I am very grateful of course," Anise added softly.

"Is Alibaba still out playing?" Sakura asked

Anise nodded, "With Cassim no doubt, those two are always fighting but they are best friends. They're relationship is rather odd that way."

Sakura snickered, thinking about Naruto and Sasuke-Alibaba and Cassim reminded her of them; not only did they constantly butt heads, they could also work together flawlessly-as she had seen when they played capture the flag.

"I think those might be the best sort of friendships." Sakura said smiling gently as she went quiet. A painful yet familiar knot sitting in her chest.

Starring at her hands in her lap; Sakura wondered what to say next to the women. She had just witnessed a part of the way she lived. It was cruel. How could king Rashid allow the women he claimed to love live like this?

"Thank you, again." Anise said, breaking the silence.

Sakura looked up at her, thinking she was referring to the money. "Oh don't worry about that, after all the kids all beat me at the game-

"I'm not talking about that." Anise said, staring at the ground, "About earlier with that man….you were so brave."

Sakura coughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well it's not my first time dealing with problems like that guy."

"Nor mine; of course it doesn't usually go as it did today."

Anise continued to stare at the ground, her cheerful expression was gone and in its place was a blank mask, yet Sakura could see the pain in her eyes and feel it in her rukh. Just how much had this women endured? That single statement Anise made confirmed Sakura's suspicions about her occupation. She had heard clearly what the man said when he gave Anise those two options, but Sakura didn't want to go out on a single drunks words. Was this the result after she left the palace?

"It must be hard," Sakura said, glancing towards the entrance of her home. "To do it all alone, to do it all like this."

"It is," Anise replied, keeping her eyes off of Sakura just as the pinkette did with her. It was somehow easier to talk this way. "But it's the only way. If it means I can provide for Alibaba-then it's more than worth it. He is the reason I can wake up every morning and go to bed every night with a smile on my face, knowing that he has survived another day."

A mother's sacrifice; that's what Sakura was certainly witnessing. While Sakura felt sympathy for Anise, she also couldn't help but marvel at her strength and the lengths she was willing to go through for her son.

Then Sakura pictured another women, in a white dress, with short blonde hair and emerald green eyes mirroring her own-her mother and then a second women-also blonde but a lighter shade, and brown eyes-her teacher and leader of their village-Tsunade. Sakura felt her throat become dry as she thought about the two mother's she had in her life and now she had none. Gone in an instant and that's what was really so painful about it.

"Alibaba is lucky to have you as his mother."

"I only wish I could have given him a better life." Anise said. "But because of my own decisions, this is all I can do for him."

"I think it's more than enough and it's not just your decisions." Sakura reached out and grasped Anise's hand. "It takes two and you are only one."

"I also worry; about Mariam and Cassim." Anise said, she had a sour look on her face now. "I honestly want to give them a better life as well."

When Sakura went back to that night, she remember how Cassim had only allowed her to take him a little ways to his home, but he wouldn't allow her to see it.

"Cassim and Mariam….What exactly-"Sakura stopped herself, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't ask-it's not really my business."

Anise breathed softly, "They live with their father and he…."

When Anise's eyes met Sakura's and kept quiet, the pinkette understood the message. Standing up abruptly, Sakura moved towards the outside. "I'm going to find Alibaba."

"Oh, could you also bring Cassim and Marian?" Anise called after her.

"I will."

Sakura didn't want to confront Anise about King Rashid, not after what she had said about Alibaba. There was no reason to open old wounds just because she was curious. It felt completely wrong to Sakura to even think it now. Simply because her own fears had manifested anxiety didn't mean that she had to pick at other people's pasts.

* * *

It was going to rain soon, despite the warning signals of the darkening clouds the children still played around in the junk yard. Laughing and smiling as if they didn't have a care in the world-or perhaps they were only trying to escape reality. Alibaba, Cassim and Mariam were amongst the group of children; when they spotted Sakura, the three immediately ran up to her.

"Sakura!"

Kneeling down, Sakura placed her hands on top of the children's heads and gave them an affectionate shake. "Hey you three. Alibaba, your mom wants you, Mariam and Cassim to come back to her. We're all having lunch together."

"Oh!"

"Okay." Alibaba said.

Sakura then looked at Cassim, after meeting his eerie silence. When she got a proper look at the boy's face, she frowned. What she saw confirmed the smallest suspicions that rested in her and killed whatever doubts she had about them. Cassim's right eye was swollen on top, his bottom lip split, his tan skin didn't hide the dark purple bruises on his jaw, arms and legs. Automatically, Sakura looked at Mariam, searching for any injuries, but aside from a healing scrape on her knee, she was fine.

Sakura mentally began to chant to herself to calm down before smiling at the three. "Alright, Alibaba and Mariam; you two go on ahead. Cassim and I will come along soon."

Although there were questioning gazes going back and forth between the three, Cassim finally said that they should go ahead and they listened. Sakura stayed until the two children vanished in the direction of Alibaba's home.

"Cassim, what happened?" Sakura kept her voice steady, placing her hands over his face. As her chakra poured, Cassim felt like there was a cool light brushing against his skin even though Sakura's hands were not physically touching him. It made him realize just how hot the wounds were in comparison.

"Wh-What-What are you doing?" Cassim breathed like he was being choked.

"I'm healing you." Sakura stated. She started moving her hands over Cassim's neck, his shoulders and then arms. When he was healed, she moved back after checking for any internal injuries, breaks or sprains (Thankfully finding none) and looked at Cassim.

"Do you want to tell me what happened or am I going to have to come up with the answer to my own question-because I think I know it."

Cassim looked down, his voice barely audible. "My father."

Sakura heard the story about how Cassim's father had come home two nights ago, inebriated. Alcohol apparently added fuel to the fire that was his father's temper and things had gotten a little violent. In an effort to protect Mariam from their father's brutality, he had thrown himself in the crossfire and attempted to fight back. While that had kept his father's one-track mind occupied, it didn't come without a price and Cassim had been wearing it.

"Cassim…"

"I don't want to talk about it," the boy snapped in turn.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura turned away and then back at Cassim. Standing and dusting off her clothes, she held out her hand.

"Let's go."

* * *

Cassim was confused.

When Sakura suggested they leave, he had assumed they were going to Alibaba's home where his friend and sister would be waiting with Anise to have lunch. Instead, Sakura had taken them down a different route. At first she had taken a couple of odd turns, sometimes going in circles, before she appeared to have an epiphany and knew where to go. That didn't make Cassim feel better; because when they stopped, it was then that he realized where Sakura was intending for them to go-and he wouldn't have it.

"Well, this seems about right," Sakura said, looking around at the quiet area. There were several homes around, but no one was out-probably due to the light drizzle that had started five minutes ago. "This is where you told me to stop when I was dropping you at home right?"

"Why are we here?" Cassim asked.

"I'm guessing; you didn't want me to take you home-to your front door-because you were afraid your father might have been waiting for you."

Cassim's silence was confirmation to the truth Sakura had just stabbed him with, but she intended to work on the wounds she was reopening.

"You know, you could leave." Sakura told him, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "You have Alibaba and his mother."

His fists clenched tightly at his sides, knuckles turning white and Sakura could hear his teeth grinding. "I can't do that. He would find us. He would know and he would make us come back-just because-just because!"

When Sakura put her hand on Cassim's head, the boy quieted, his shaking subsiding somewhat. "Which way Cassim?"

He didn't reply.

"Cassim." Sakura repeated, crouching down to his height, "Look at me."

When Cassim obeyed Sakura's demand, when he met her eyes, something felt like it had shifted in him, an odd sensation filling him and before realizing, truly realizing, he was directing her to the place he regrettably called home.

" _My king, what are you planning?" Stolas asked nervously_

'You'll see.'

 _Sitri giggled, "Oh this is going to be good."_

" _I worry when you, say such things." Beleth sighed_

" _It's not going to be good, this is our king we're talking about-It'll be fantastic." Gaap corrected._

" _You worry me even more!"_

* * *

When Sakura arrived at Cassim's home and he showed her his home, a small brick house, obviously one room with a broken wooden door and two men standing in front. One of them Sakura recognized. The man with the dark, un-kept hair and large belly, the man that was harassing Anise. The second, Cassim identified as his father; he had a tall stature and built strong, dark eyes, and the only hair he had was on his face.

Sakura and Cassim observed the two from around the corner of a building, where they were able to remain unseen but could hear the conversation taking place.

"What do you mean you didn't get her!?"

"I couldn't!"

"You were supposed to get my money! I know she's hiding it!"

"How do we even know she's got any?"

"I heard it; all the other brats came back with bags of gold-that wench is hiding mine from me."

"I can't go back there, some other girl is there with Anise now. She's pulled a knife on me."

"You're saying you couldn't handle two women!?"

While the two continued bickering, Sakura turned to Cassim with a stern expression and fierceness for obedience in her eyes. "Stay here."

Cassim's father scoffed at the other man, "Fine, we'll get her tonight and force her to give us the money-

"That won't be happening boys."

The men turned to the pink haired girl, standing in the street, clouds clashing, creating roaring noises, promising thunder. The wind was beginning to gradually grown heavy, as did the rain and everyone knew they were in for quite a storm.

Sakura stood there, arms crossed. Cassim's father addressed her, "There's no boys here little girl, only men."

Sakura scoffed. "Well, all I see are boys. Boys who are going to make a foolish mistake."

"What?"

"That plan you have to attack Anise-you better forget about it."

While Cassim's father was nothing but amused, the other man-the one that attacked Anise wasn't laughing as his friend.

"That's her." he said, looking at Sakura with wide eyes. "That's the girl with Anise."

Sakura continued to stare at the men, while Cassim's father started walking towards her. "This girl? She's a fucking child!"

When Cassim's father was standing right in front of her, glaring down at her, she knew that he felt no fear. For compared to him, she was in fact a child and being a man who had no problem 'handling' his own children, she was nothing in his eyes.

"Listen here, this is none of your business-

"Actually." Sakura interrupted, irritated. "It is my business, because you are in fact discussing plans to steal money that I personally gave to the children here. They're meant to help the people with children, not to be wasted so that you can get wasted."

Sakura's blunt bitterness and blatant disregard had set off the man and also intoxicated, he lost all senses. Raising his hand, with his fist clenched and ready to strike. However, Sakura had seen the same move made too many times of inexperienced (occasionally drunk) men, who thought they could fight. In a blink, Sakura was no longer in front of him, but materialized only a second later behind Cassim's father.

Grabbing one of his arms, she leaned back and then through herself forward, flinging the man into his friend, both tumbling and skidding across the muddy ground until they hit the house. Sakura glanced back to where she knew Cassim was watching and the back to the men. Walking until she was standing in front of them.

They were stumbling, attempting to stand but failing.

"You little bitch! I-I'll get you-I'll kill you and then I'm going for that whore-

Sakura slammed her foot into the ground, causing a tremor and creating a small crater in the earth that actually hide her foot; effectively silencing them.

"Now listen here." Sakura had her hands on her hips and started leaning forward. "I want you both to get up right now; get up and walk away-walk far, walk fast and I don't want you to ever come back."

"What you say?"

Sakura glared down at Cassim's father, the other man was still trembling from the sight of the girl throwing a grown man into another.

"I will not repeat myself. You want money…" Sakura twisted sideways, digging into her waist bag. She brought out a sack of money, completely filled and stuffed with coins. She had intended to give it to Anise before she left but she needed insurance that these men wouldn't become overpowered by their greed and come after Anise and Alibaba when Sakura was gone.

"Here" Sakura threw the sack at their feet. They stared as the coins spilled out, the way they eyed it made Sakura think of swine about to be fed. "Take this and get the hell out of here-and you," Sakura glared at Cassim's father. "Don't you ever come near Cassim or Mariam ever again, agree to these terms and you can walk away."

The men were silent so Sakura spoke again.

"Unless of course; you'd like to go with option B." Sakura reached for Gaap as she spoke. "I have no problem killing scum like you."

Cassim's father laughed gruffly, "Scum eh? And what do you think that makes Mariam and Cassim? Scum makes scum!"

"Leave," Sakura hissed.

" _I was right, this is fantastic." Gaap said_

" _I truly worry, truly." Beleth sighed._

It didn't take much for Cassim's father and his friend to grab the bag of gold and leave. Sakura watched as they disappeared around the next corner, certain that they weren't going to come back. When they were gone, Cassim came out and ran in front of Sakura.

"Why did you do that?"

Sakura continued to stare out, where she had watched the men leave.

"Because, I don't believe you deserve a father like that."

Cassim looked down, "That's what we got. I think he was right though."

Sakura frowned, turning back to Cassim. "About?"

"Being scum," Cassim stared at his hand, it started to tremble as his eyes glazed over in hate. "His blood runs through my veins."

Cassim jumped when Sakura put her hand on top of his head again, but with a little more force to jostle him, before gently rubbing it. When he saw her face, she appeared completely indifferent and he felt a pang of pain shoot through him. However, Sakura's expression had a different explanation behind it and her own words would've explained it, if Cassim had known her truth.

"Those who abandon their mission are scum," Sakura exhaled, "But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

Cassim's eyes widened and Sakura smiled, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Be glad, you're not worse than scum."

* * *

Sakura and Cassim returned to Anise's home; while the children sat down to eat. Sakura pulled Anise out of the house to softly tell her what had happened and what she had done. Although Sakura was partly expecting the women to scold her for making Cassim and Mariam's father leave, she actually thanked her and said she had no issues taking the siblings in now. It wasn't unusual for people to go missing in the slums but for those with children, it often meant that the children had lost their means of survival and would continue to struggle until their last breath-which was usually too soon.

"I'll take care of them, don't worry." Anise assured.

Sakura smiled, "I know you will."

"Thank you, Sakura."

* * *

Sakura returned to the Company, sneaking in through her bedroom window and collapsing on the bed, falling face firsts into the softness. Her body felt like it had turned to metal in the ocean, sinking her, unbearable to carry. She couldn't even take in her djinn's compliments on her actions for the day, she couldn't think about it. She didn't want to.

" _Those who abandon their mission are scum, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."_

…

…

" _Be glad, you're not worse than scum"_

Clutching both sides of her head, shaking and gritting her teeth tight, with her eyes shut so hard it hurt. Sakura felt herself curl in that position and becoming immobile.

 _It should've been cold._

 _The sky was completely grey and entire ground was covered with mist without a single beam of sunlight or promise of blue from above, so it should've been cold-but it wasn't. She couldn't feel it. The moisture that settled on your skin when the mist came into contact, the breeze that brushed against your skin and made you shiver because of the moisture. Nothing._

 _Sakura could feel nothing._

 _She could see grass beneath her feet when she looked down through the thickness of the mist as she walked but that was it. She didn't know where she was going, she just kept walking. She couldn't bring herself to stop. And her thoughts couldn't seem to form and coincide with her body to pause and think about what she was doing._

 _Her head that was lowered, had the urge then to look up and then she saw it. Three silhouettes out in the distance, the mist obscuring them, but it looked like people (judging from their statues), each waving at her._

 _She kept walking towards them, her feet moving soundlessly against the grass. Although she was nearing, the figures didn't seem to be growing but they didn't seem inaccurate either._

" _Sakura."_

 _She heard it._

 _The unmistakable voices._

 _The first one was laced with a pitched edge that could hide nothing._

" _Sakura."_

 _The second was low, with a kind gruffness which came with age._

" _Sakura…"_

 _She stopped at the third voice. The calm tone, balanced, telling you that it was unable to waver and incapable of stuttering and incapable of much expression, as if it had been drained but it still made her feel warm._

 _It was as if the realization and clarity of her mind was materializing via the misty atmosphere as it began to thin out, fading until it was like the wind-invisible. And she saw them._

 _She saw them. Standing on a hill at the clearance of a forest, behind them were three cut three trunks acting as posts. And there, were her teammates. All as she remembered them from when she was twelve. Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke. They were there. Calling to her._

" _Come on Sakura!" Naruto beamed, throwing his hands up in the air._

" _Naruto…"_

" _We're going to be late." Kakashi called, although half of his face was covered by his mask and headband, showing only one eye; that was all she needed to see to know that he was smiling._

" _Kakashi sensei…"_

 _And then her eyes fell him. He stood there, eyes closed, arms crossed with that passive look on his face that she admired so greatly but when he opened his eyes, those dark coal-like eyes, she felt so light._

" _Sasuke…"_

" _Come on, what are you waiting for?"_

 _She couldn't respond, she was completely incapable of speech as the overwhelming yet nostalgic wave of warmth swept over her. Just as it always did when Sasuke looked at her._

 _When she moved forward, her arm extending and hand outstretched, anxious to make contact. Then the arm that was hanging limply at her side, of no interest to Sakura currently, was grabbed and forced her body to jerk and stop._

 _Turning her head viciously behind her, with her face already molded into the perfect frown, pinched in anger and drizzled with impatience, ready to completely devour whoever had stopped her moment. Only to freeze as she entered into another._

 _Sinbad stood behind her, his hand tightly holding her wrist and rendering the rest of the body incapable of movement._

" _Sinbad…"_

 _His powerful, golden eyes stared at her with overwhelming strength that crumpled her own and Sakura felt as if she couldn't breathe anymore._

" _Will you deny me, Sakura?"_

 _Sakura looked back at her teammates and saw that they were still looking at her but they were looking at her differently, their eyes had widened, the smiles were gone and the nostalgia had left the atmosphere; then she saw the hand she had outstretched towards them, streaked with crimson red that didn't fade as it dripped down her skin._

" _It's too late."_

 _Red and orange engulfed her vision, but the heat of the flames were nonexistent. The entire world around her morphed into another, dominated by darkness and flames. Shrill screams filled the air, bodies of different statues lied around, hiding most of the ground._

 _Amongst the chaos, Sakura saw Kil laying at her feet, lifeless but still bleeding out from the wound. The bodies of all the children, who's faces Sakura could place as former slaves to Madaura, all painted carelessly in red on the ground, helpless, lifeless._

 _Sinbad's voice echoed behind her and although he was standing at such close proximity, Sakura could not feel his presence. "Our hands are already dirty."_

 _Roaring, hisses, inhuman screeches, scratching, rattling metal caught her ears and she turned to find the trail of sounds. Bars with darkness behind it, standing out of place from the rest of the scene and yet fitting. There were the beasts that Sinbad and Sakura had abandoned that night in the research facility. There was the one who had spoken with her and Sinbad, the one that came from Sinbad's village of Tison._

" _HELP US…HELP US, HELP US,_ _ **HELP US…..**_

 _Sakura felt terror swell in her belly, the vile sensation to retch was strong but nothing would come. She did not see the other figure appear behind her and Sinbad but when she heard his familiar voice, she turned around in complete horror._

" _You broke your promise."_

 _Naruto stood, his shoulders slumped forward, barely visible in his heavy orange jacket, his eyes hidden with his bangs and his hands clenched beside him._

" _You told me to wait for you." Naruto said. "You made me make a promise of a lifetime but you've forgotten us. You let us go. Why Sakura? Why?"_

 _Sakura wanted to tell herself that none of this was real, but she couldn't' bring herself to wake from this obvious nightmare._

" _Because she can't come back." Another familiar voice chimed in, too familiar-her own._

 _Sakura looked behind her and saw a twelve year old girl, wide emerald green eyes, pink hair that reached her mid-back, in a red dress fitting loosely on her, with a headband holding her hair back._

" _We can't." The younger Sakura stated. She raised her arm straight, pointing to the present Sakura and the pinkette looked down; what was her reflection in the pool of blood in front of her was as clear as it would be in any mirror but what Sakura saw, it wasn't her._

 _Her eyes remained the same, but her sclera was black, her pink hair stood out sharply, wild, her skin was near snow white, her fingernails were black in contrast. Sakura stared in horror at her own reflection._

" _We're not here anymore."_

Emerald green eyes opened, as Sakura awakened with a jolt, her breathing shallow. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. She hadn't even realized when she had fallen asleep but it had still been during the afternoon, now it was completely dark out. Sakura searched the room; when she couldn't find Sinbad, she was certain he was still dealing with their last minute travel plans.

Even though she was alone in the room, she felt suffocated. She ran towards the door, flinging it open with a loud rattle and rushing out.

* * *

She took another breath. The physical nausea that had overcome Sakura from her nightmare was soothed; but internally, she could still feel herself churning. She stood barefoot at the end of a bridge at the harbor. Overlooking the sea through the darkness that was pushed back by the moonlight. She lost track of how many night's those dreams occurred, but it was always the same and she was always hoping it would pass like the other's.

It never did.

The wind blowing against Sakura, cooled her sweaty skin and calmed her nerves. She took another breath with her eyes closed.

"We always seem to meet like this, don't we; Sakura?"

Gasping, Sakura turned her head to the voice, surprised-despite knowing exactly who that neutral voice belonged to.

"Yunan."

* * *

That day, there was something in the air. The excitement, the anxiety, the overwhelming waves of feelings that could not be placed and it kept. During their departure from Balbadd; where King Rashid himself came to see off Sinbad and his companion, on their way to the island in Parthevia, arriving and receiving an official greeting from Barbarossa and his party members; boats nearly filled the entire harbor. Then things escalated when the group reached Sindria's palace. It had gone well into the evening by the time they had arrived, yet no one was the least bit tired; all only eager.

Sinbad did not spare any expense when it came to building the palace for their country. The optics were grand; inside and out. The palace stood on the tallest point of the island, where it could be seen all the way from the harbor.

The palace was preceded by a courtyard of exceptional grandeur with columns of marble, granite and porphyry. There was a number of minarets standing at different heights, symmetrical to their opposite sides with the main dome in the center of it all. There was a great number of veranda's, reaching to the uppercase of the structure; lined with red carpet to quiet footsteps and held by pillars. The interior wasn't subtle either, the designs and patterns on the walls, lined in bright color, suiting to Sinbad's flashy taste. The white marble and woodwork with simple designs in ivory.

In celebration of their first day on the island; there was a huge banquet, in which everyone partook in the dining hall. Everyone sat at a long, sleek tabled that was covered in silk and decorated with a variety of foods from all over. Several chandeliers hanging above and lighting the room brightly to take in the décor. While they ate and chatted, of their plans, of the opening ceremony, of their joys; Sakura was nothing other than silent throughout most of it. Answering questions as subtle as possible and playing along, as everyone stood from their seats and gave a toast to Sinbad.

"Here's to finally making it-to changing the world-to Sinbad."

"TO SINBAD"

Sakura drank a sip of her wine quietly. She didn't feel the exciting atmosphere, it did not grasp her as it did the others. When she ate-she tasted nothing, when she drank the wine-the bitter taste did not make her cringe. Although she wanted to keep her gravity on her present, on the celebration, on everyone, because she did not want to think, because if she did; she would go back. And she wouldn't be able to keep face if she did.

"I couldn't have done it without all of you, standing with me every step." Sinbad said, smiling back to all his friends. Sakura could feel Sinbad's gaze fall on her and looked back at him. "And now that we're here, let me say-welcome home everyone."

* * *

Later that night, when everyone had finally decided to turn in. Sakura and Sinbad went back together to their new chambers. It was twice as large as the one they had back in Balbadd, the décor made a strong statement with the assortment of patterns, the furniture consisting of three too many chaise's, a table set, dressing table, shelves with ornaments and a large bed with five too many pillows.

Sakura was sitting up, leaning against the headrest. The sheets pulled all the way up to cover her bare form, she glanced around at Sinbad and her own discarded clothes that lied on the floor, a few feet from the bed.

Carefully, silently, Sakura climbed out of bed. After wrapping herself in a white robe, Sakura went towards a trunk. It had everything that Sakura owned in it; while it might not have been much, it was enough for her. She shuffled through the layers of fabric on top, reaching deeper in while taking timed glances behind her at Sinbad. She always stopped whenever she heard him make any noise aside from snoring, and when he made any movement like tossing, his arm throwing itself over on her side of the bed. All this time of sleeping in the same bed, it became as if Sinbad searched for body heat in his sleep.

After reaching the bottom of the trunk, in the far corner, Sakura pulled out a small wooden box, it had no design, completely dull and if you didn't look carefully, you would assume it was a just a block of wood.

Sakura breathing grew softer as she eyed the box, holding one hand under while placing the other on top to remove the lid, it made a small popping sound from the release of air it retained and Sakura looked back to the bed once more. Sinbad did not stir.

Sighing, Sakura placed two fingers inside the box. She used it to keep Hakuyuu's ring. There was a spectacle the last time Sakura had decided to wear Hakuyuu's ring in public; she had placed it on a thin chain to go around her neck and was able to wear it for days but the moment Sinbad saw her; he had told her to take it off. Although Sakura attempted to protest, pointing that this ring wasn't doing any harm, Sinbad already knew the symbolism of the ring and what it was for Hakuyuu-hope.

" _I don't want you wearing that ring around your neck anymore." Sinbad said as he ran a hand through his hair as he stared down at one of the open scrolls on his desk._

" _Hakuyuu gave me this ring to keep for him. He wants me to return it when he becomes emperor. That's all."_

 _Sinbad scoffed, looking up at Sakura standing on the other side of his desk, "Either in your hand or on your finger right? That's what he told you."_

" _Yes," Sakura sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. "But it's not as if-_

" _It's not as if what!?" Sinbad exclaimed, pushing himself up from his desk, the chair scraping against the wood, nearly falling over._

" _It's not as if this is an engagement ring!" Sakura threw her arms out._

" _That's where we disagree." Sinbad walked up to Sakura, standing head to head with her. Sakura was shaking but she felt a pang and it urged her to surrender. "He fell for you, he wants you and because you took that ring, he thinks he can still get you. He want's what he cannot have; so he gave you that ring."_

" _Sinbad-_

" _No Sakura," Sinbad cut her off, "It's you and me only. I don't want to argue about this; just put it away."_

 _Sakura breathed in deeply but softly, reaching behind her neck, she undid the chains link, holding the ring tightly in a fist. She felt this tightening pain in her chest, her throat was going dry and her eyes were starting to burn. Sakura pushed back the tears. It was like this giant waved washed over, knocking Sakura off her feet and disrupting the balance of her emotions because she did not know why she was on the verge of crying._

 _Sinbad stepped forward, wrapping his arms around the pinkette's waist. He nuzzled the side of her head, stroking the back of her neck but that was only another wave that pushed Sakura back. The tears started falling and her shoulders were shaking while Sinbad kept her in place, comforting her._

" _It's you and me right?" Sinbad asked again._

 _And she accepted._

" _Yeah, you and me."_

As Sakura twirled the ring between her fingers, she thought back to that day. Sakura hadn't been able to figure out what made her cry. She and Hakuyuu may have stood on different landscapes with their relationship, but Sakura already came to terms with that and it wasn't anything that made her want to cry. That had been months ago, but while going back on it now, the only other factor to consider was Sinbad, but all he did was argue with her. It was on a topic Sakura found ridiculous and it wasn't the first time they had these sort of arguments, but something felt different.

"… _.Eventually you're going to become nothing more than his shadow, following after him and having no free will of your own."_

Sakura shook her head lightly, feeling the ends of her hair hit the sides of her face every time she turned her head. She put the ring back, before reaching in again and taking something else out. Holding up by a chain, Sakura watched the moonlight bounce off of the item, reflecting off onto another part of the room, except in one part where the light went straight through.

The Looking Glass.

* * *

" _Yunan…what are you-why-what the-_

 _Yunan chuckled at the pinkettes flustered response to his appearance; Sakura blinked rapidly with her eyes as wide as they could go, the wind cooling her tongue as her mouth continued to hang open, pending for her mind to form words._

" _It's nice to see you again."_

 _Sakura jostled slightly before straightening her posture. "What are you doing here, Yunan?"_

" _Waiting for you." The magi stated, keeping an empty smile on his face. "How have you been?"_

" _Fine…" Sakura replied, raising her eyebrow._

" _Are you sure?"_

 _In Yunan's soft toned voice, Sakura sensed that he already knew the real answer to his own question but he wanted her to answer it._

 _Folding her arms, Sakura let out a heavy breath. "What do you want Yunan?"_

 _Yunan closed his eyes for a moment, "Sakura, do you remember what I told you in Kou and Reim, about the Looking Glass?"_

 _Sakura frowned, crossing her arms, "Why are you asking me-_

" _Do you remember?" Yunan interjected. "What I said about the Looking Glass? What I warned you about?"_

 _Sakura grimaced; she hadn't thought about the Looking Glass for a very long while and bringing it up just made her feel the worst kind of discomfort. "You mentioned attachments a lot as I recall."_

" _Yes," Yunan nodded, "I told you that in order to proceed, you had to let go of your attachment in order to get home. There's a reason for this kind of magic."_

" _Reason?"_

" _Sakura, do you remember when you found the Looking Glass? What you did?"_

 _That was yet another memory that Sakura hadn't brought to the front in a while. Before she use to think of it all the time, every single day in the beginning of her journey. To her it was what she considered the worst mistake she would ever make in her lifetime because if she hadn't touched the Looking Glass, she wouldn't have ended up in this world, she wouldn't have had to risk her life conquering dungeons and she wouldn't have had to experience the loneliness of being in somewhere you just didn't belong._

" _Yes, I touched the mirror and it drew me in, before shattering."_

 _Yunan nodded again, his staff held firmly on his side. "The Looking Glass, is meant to take a Magi between worlds, creating a bridge between the spaces of worlds for us to cross over into. Every magi has the ability to create their own Looking Glass and only they are able to use it properly. But you somehow subconsciously used magoi-you used the Looking Glass and in response it shattered. If it had been the magi that sent you here, you wouldn't have had the Looking Glass, only a shard."_

 _Sakura bit her bottom lip, "So I activated it on my own?"_

" _Yes," Yunan replied, "But you couldn't keep the mirror from shattering because you're not the owner. I am."_

" _I know." Sakura said, honestly._

" _I thought you would figure it out." Yunan grinned, his eyes downcast._

" _I just can't figure out, why you would keep the mirror hidden in the Hokage Mountain?"_

 _Yunan chuckled softly, holding his hand over his mouth. "Actually, I did that because your world was the only one I visited so I kept the window open by leaving the mirror there and connected to a place in my world. Then when you came along, the window closed and I knew someone had found my mirror."_

 _Sakura nodded in understanding. Yunan really hadn't planned for Sakura or anyone else to find that mirror at all, it was sheer chance. "There must be so many different worlds, why stay grounded to mine?"_

" _Sakura; I know a lot more about your world than you think. I know about you, about Naruto and Sasuke."_

 _Sakura gasped, stumbling a little. "What?"_

 _Yunan sat down on the peer, crossing his legs and resting his staff over his legs. Sakura decided to sit across from him, her legs folded underneath her and hands in her lap as she waited for Yunan to explain his story._

" _Your world Sakura, it's an amazing place but from the moment I arrived, I knew from what I saw and what I heard, that it was also a cruel one." Yunan's voice grew softer, "Full of war, suffering, endless fighting. There was a constant battle for power; I thought that this world would destroy itself. There were so many seeking change, at the same time that there were clashes. Then your village was created, The village Hidden in the Leaves. No matter how many wars or battles that its people endured, the village stood through it all."_

 _Sakura looked down at her pale hands; the village was something else she hadn't thought about in a while, it brought back memories of her past life, everything she once had, everything she thought she couldn't go back to and everything she had let go of._

" _And you said you know, about me and Naruto and Sasuke too?"_

 _Yunan nodded, "Sakura, there are so many things, that all of you don't know. Things that Naruto and Sasuke don't know, even though it's linked to them."_

 _Sakura stopped, standing up. "No; don't tell me."_

" _Sakura-_

" _No!" Sakura exclaimed, she clutched the side of her head. "I don't want to hear it-I can't here it! I've already let go of this past, I can't go back! Telling me isn't going to do anything!"_

" _What if you could go back?" Yunan countered calmly. He reached into his top and held out his fist in front of Sakura, loosening it slightly to release the chain and the item it was attached to. Sakura's eyes widened and she stepped back in disbelief._

" _The Looking Glass…."_

 _Yunan was holding the Looking Glass right in front of her and when Sakura had overcome her shock of seeing the object, something else caused her to fall into a shocked stated of paralysis. The mirror, the shards; it was almost entirely intact._

" _There's just one more shard left." Yunan stated, "It takes some time to draw in all the shards again and I wasn't sure if I should give it back to you."_

 _Sakura continued to stare at the item in Yunan's hand with continuous incredulity. "What does this mean, Yunan?"_

 _Yunan didn't blink when he responded, "It means you can go home Sakura."_

 _Sakura shook her head, her breath coming out shallow. "This can't be true."_

" _It is."_

" _IT CAN'T." Sakura yelled, disregarding the idea that someone might hear her. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? DO YOU REALLY KNOW!? YOU'RE SAYING I HAVE A CHANCE TO GO BACK? I CAN'T JUST GO BACK. I HAVE DONE TOO MUCH HERE."_

" _I know about what you have done, Sakura." Yunan stated closing his eyes. "I know."_

 _Sakura breathed heavily, her chest heaving up and down with her knuckles turning white at her sides. "I can't go back. I can't do it. I have attachments to this world. I am anchored to this world."_

" _Yes, the rules are still the same, attachments anchor you and in order to leave, you have to let them go." Yunan said, keeping his eyes on the pinkette. His expression remaining calm._

 _Sakura ran her hand over her face, muttering under her breath. "Let them go…let them go…." Sakura snickered dryly, her voice gruff. "I already have let go. I've let go of my world; I already chose this one. I already sacrificed for this world. There is nothing left me for over there."_

" _You're wrong, Sakura. There is more waiting for you than you realize."_

 _Sakura laughed humorlessly again, "Four years, Yunan. I've been gone for almost four years now. Everyone probably thinks I'm dead."_

" _No, they don't. No one thinks you're dead; no one even knows you're not there anymore."_

 _Sakura drew in another big gulp of air and held it. "What?"_

 _Yunan kept quiet for a few seconds longer, building Sakura's anxiety and anticipation for an explanation. "The Looking Glass, holds a power similar to that of the dungeons. Time is distorted between dungeons and the outside world."_

" _Wait." Sakura held up her hand, "You're saying that time is-distorted between my world and this one?"_

" _Yes." Yunan admitted, "The distortion of time is dependent on the amount of shards that are taken from the Looking Glass. Space and time between your world and this world synchronize only after all the shards return and the Looking Glass whole. This is why I didn't finish the mirror and why I came to you instead."_

" _Oh my god." Sakura gripped her hair tightly, feeling her scalp pulling in protest to the pain she was inflicting on herself._

 _Sakura remembered; when she had asked Katsuyu about the happenings in her world; the slug had told her, she didn't know because she wasn't summoned by Tsunade and Tsunade hadn't summoned Katsuyu because she hadn't had the need to. Because back in her world, time was practically at a standstill. Once the mirror was complete, it would return._

" _No way….and what about me?" Sakura put her hand on top of her chest, desperate to end this. "I'm not the same age anymore! I can't go back there looking like this!"_

" _Sakura; the Looking Glass...it has magic that will convert you back to your original physical appearance. Externally, you'll return to what you were when you left."_

 _Sakura slapped her hands over her face, shaking her head again, grumbling about how convenient this all sounded. The fact that she could just go back home now, collect one more shard and leave, she would be able to return to that exact moment when she had left. It was all so convenient that it filled her bitterly. Finally, after several minutes of muttering to herself, Sakura turned to face Yunan directly again and then stated firmly._

" _I'm not going back."_

 _Yunan's eyes softened, "Sakura…"_

" _I'm not doing it Yunan. I already chose Sinbad. That world will be fine without me."_

 _Yunan went silent again, for several moments longer, his head bowed slightly and his eyes closed as if he was contemplating something very taxing and Sakura had assumed this because when he opened his eyes, they held a new gravitas._

 _Yunan raised his staff, holding it above Sakura's head. "I told you before, that there were things in your world; that you and your friends didn't know…."_

" _Yes." Sakura said, raising her head slightly to look at the staff._

 _Yunan swallowed hard, "I think, before you make this choice…you should know a few things at least."_

 _There was the heavy fluttering of the rukh, a bright light gathering at the top of Yunan's staff, swirling and then, Yunan tapped Sakura's forehead….and she saw._

* * *

There were soft brushes fluttering across her face, soft pressure every time there was a pause and she relished in the feeling. Sakura's mind still wrapped in the blanket of sleep; then she felt something trailing from her shoulder, down her arm, jumping to her waist, getting lower and her eyes shot open, Sakura gasped loudly, grasping what had been travelling across her body with quick reflexes and she heard a groan of pain. Turning her head to the side, she saw Sinbad grimacing in pain as Sakura continued to grasp his hand in a vice-like grip.

"Good morning to you too."

Sakura loosened her grip, rubbing circles around Sinbad's more tanned hand. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright, you didn't break it this time." Sinbad gave her a brief kiss, he pulled back, moving his hand to brush a few strands out of Sakura's face, behind her ear. "What was it?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked, covering her mouth to yawn.

"Your dream," Sinbad kissed her forehead, his hand falling over her back, rubbing it soothingly. "You looked like you were having a nightmare."

Sakura stiffened and Sinbad could feel it under his ministrations, so he pulled back to look at the pinkette's face but when their eyes met, she pushed forward. Hiding her face in his chest. She recollected. For a month now, this had been her dreams, it was either the one where she saw her teammates or it was a replay of the conversation Sakura had with Yunan that night before they left for Parthevia. Both were gut-retching and haunting.

"It's nothing,"

Sinbad didn't look convinced, "Are you sure?"

She smiled blankly, easily. "Yes."

* * *

Routine for Sakura, changed in that short span of time, another month passing, leaving only three before the ceremony, during that time, Sakura was hardly able to do her regular work for the company, unable to come up with new products for her department or create her current merchandise, because every time she went to her office, someone would come in and pull her away to deal with matters concerning the opening ceremony.

Sakura stared at the spread of dishes in front of her at the table, each were in small sets and lined up for tasting. There were a few people gathered around at her chair watching her carefully, as she took her fork, and pinned the food on the plate to it, brought it to her mouth, chewing slowly, uncomfortably and swallowing.

"How was that one miss?" a women asked.

"Well…it's got a bit more spice than the previous dish-although I liked the source on that one better."

"Excellent, now how about this one for one of the main courses?" Someone pushed another plate in front of her, watching expectedly. It was chicken, but it was smothered in a thick sauce that had a tangy sweetness.

"You should definitely add this to the menu." Sakura said, wiping her face with a cloth, "And don't forget, some of the members of the alliance also have children that might be attending; so you'll need to make some dishes suitable for a child's palate. I know I didn't have a taste for anything if it wasn't sweet."

"Ah, speaking of which; we still have to talk deserts."

After doing taste tests on several dozen platters, Sakura was so full and somewhat nauseous that she couldn't' bring herself to eat that day or the next. After the tasting, she was asked all these questions about what kind of layout of food and in what order she would like to have at the ceremony's celebration dinner which would be taking place in the palace with all of the royal guests from the Seven Sea's Alliance.

And things did not end there.

* * *

Another day, someone had come in to Sakura's office, saying that they had a problem with the table setting and decorations. They rushed her out of her office and into the dining hall where she had to stand for almost three hours, while the table was set several times, discussed, debated and set all over again.

"What do you think of this red with gold lining, table cloth?" Sakura was asked.

"Well…."

"No, wouldn't the blue and white be better?" asked another person, holding the cloth in front of Sakura. "To represent the sea."

"But it doesn't mix well with the rest of the décor, including the drapes." Someone pointed to the curtains.

"Then we can just change them for the night, isn't that correct Miss Haruno?"

Sakura rubbed the back of her head, "That's…."

"Why no go with the white with silver patterns, the design is intricate and unique. Besides it compliments everything."

"Including wine stains, it will be visible on the cloth."

"These are high class guests, surely they will be suited to avoid such incidents."

"Enough alcohol induces accidents for anyone and there will be plenty with the wine tower."

Sakura sighed, covering her face in her hands, she clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention. "Go with the red and gold, but make sure the plates and dishes are all white and no one touches the rests of the décor in this room understood?"

Everyone nodded, "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Flower arranging, by far was the worst item of agenda. When Sakura had to sit and look through hundreds of flower arrangements, help customize them, place them right in different parts of the palace, she nearly screamed and threw her fist into the wall. Flower arranging was something she had done back when she was still a student at the academy and she admitted she was not good at it. Although she had followed the advice of a certain blonde haired, blue eyed friend who happened to be the daughter of a florist. She told Sakura to find a main flower and then find other flowers to compliment it. Of course it didn't save her that much time, since there was also the consideration of what vases to use.

There were set ups for the tables, the courtyard, the lining in the hallways, the inner gardens and so on was Sakura's entire day.

* * *

"It's not funny,"

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

After another long day of celebration planning for Sakura, she came into the room, collapsed on the bed. She felt the continuing shooting pains in her back, along her spine, between her shoulder blades and just below her backside. Today was one of the worst; she could usually ignore the discomfort, especially when she was at her desk for the day, but she had been walking around all day again, three weeks in a row and her body had long been feeling the pain. Now it just refused to go away.

Sakura actually considered for a moment using acupuncture on herself, when Sinbad came in, found her lying on the bed and offered her a massage, while she complained to him about having yet another day filled with making party preparations-that she believed herself to be unqualified for.

"I'm telling you, I can't take it anymore. If I have to see another table set, look at another flower arrangement or taste another dish I can't pronounce, I'm going to land a punch so hard this entire palace will crumble." Sakura moaned, feeling Sinbad press into the knot in her back. She was laying on her stomach, her entire upper body bare but still hidden from her position. Her nightgown, bunched at her waist, while her bottom half remained covered.

"Now don't do that, we just moved in." Sinbad chuckled. He felt Sakura's muscles flex under his fingers every time he pressed hard. Even though she was petite, she was also toned which made it a bit of a challenge to find the knots in her back. "Wow, you're stiff."

Sakura scoffed, turning her head to the side and resting it back on the pillow. "I don't understand why I'm the one who has to do all the planning and decorating for this. I'm worried because everyone wants me to finalize everything."

"Just do your best, pick whatever you like." Sinbad told her, shifting his weight on the bed to lean over Sakura. "I know you'll do a great job."

"I don't know about this stuff Sinbad, besides it's planning for 'your' country's opening ceremony. Shouldn't you be the one to deal with all of this?"

Sinbad glided his hand down Sakura's back, ending right above her backside, rubbing in small circles with both hands. "I can't; I've got my hands full already and it's not just my country Sakura; it's ours."

The pinkette felt her heart give a small tug and a conflicting spark was ignited within her. "Right.

Sakura started shivering when she felt his lips brush across her neck and his hands moving to locations that was going to end her relaxing massage and turn into something more.

"Cut it out." Sakura warned, "It's not safe."

Sinbad paused, "New moon?"

"Full moon." Sakura corrected. Using the Luna cycle was a discrete way of informing Sinbad when and when not they were….safe. Since they didn't have any other methods.

"Anyway, you're still the king and this opening ceremony is for the country you are going to be ruling."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." There was a hint of mischief that could be picked up in Sinbad's voice and from past experience, it made Sakura a bit nervous.

Sakura frowned, propping herself on her elbows and turning to look at Sinbad. "What do you mean exactly?"

Sinbad just grinned, "It's a surprise."

* * *

"Good morning everyone, please begin with the morning reports." Sinbad ordered.

Ja'far, Sakura, Vittel, Mahad, Mystras and Hinahoho would meet in the morning in Sinbad's office to give him morning reports on their current status. Company matters at that time had currently been placed second to priorities since they were handling preparations for the opening ceremony due in three months and sorting the immigration applications but business was still running.

That morning, everyone gave in their morning reports, starting with Ja'far. He informed that Resident's accommodations were in order and would be ready for the ceremony, although on account of population control, Ja'far said they were going to have to start rejecting applications from immigrants from other countries.

Sinbad sat behind his desk, his hands folded on top of each other, "Everyone is welcome. If there are people in trouble, we will accept them. It's part of our country's policy, isn't that right Ja'far?"

Ja'far let out an exasperated sigh, but he expected this kind of response already. "Understood we'll increase the number of accommodations somehow."

Sinbad turned to Vittel and Mahad. Vittel gave the report on the company's status. Sales with Reim and Balbadd had a massive increase compared to the last fiscal year. Apparently, the idea of founding a nation increased the confidence of every country. Expansion of large scale projects.

Hinahoho, Mystras and Drakon gave in their reports on the circulation network, which was doing well thanks to the allied Nations cooperation. All that was left was call everyone to the founding ceremony.

"Everything seems to be in order, which reminds me. Heliohapt is the only one that hasn't replied to the ceremony invitation, where is Sharrkan?"

Sharrkan came running in at that moment, with a bright smile on his face and a piece of paper rolled up, "I'm here your majesty! I just got the documentation. Heliohapt confirms to attending the ceremony. Every member of the Alliance will be there. It's sure going to be a lively event your majesty."

Sinbad chuckled, "It's a bit too early for this 'Your majesty' don't you think?"

"Nonsense." Drakon interjected. "The ceremony is extremely close."

Ja'far nodded, "Exactly, you have to start getting used to it. Soon you'll be our king. King Sinbad!"

Sakura gave a wry smile, "They're right, you're going to be king."

"By the way Sinbad…." Ja'far trailed, narrowing his eyes at his leader, pointing at him. "How long are you going to keep dressing like a common merchant!?"

Knowing this would lead to one of Ja'far's many rants, everyone took a step back with surrendering expressions. Hinahoho put his fingers in his ears to block out the noise and Sharrkan leaned away from the white haired boy he was standing next to.

"I've just been too busy to buy new clothes with everything going on this year." Sinbad defended.

"There's a limit to everything!" exclaimed Ja'far. "We're all busy! You can't look worse than the rest of us!"

Sinbad had taken to his work very often, more often when he couldn't find Sakura unoccupied. Even so, she knew Sinbad was continuing to use his busy schedule to push back the memories of that night on the island. She had done the same and for a time it worked, but the nightmares wouldn't stop and now there was more to add to it. Although Sinbad did seem to be coping better-a lot better than she was, given he was actually able to smile with ease, hold in his food and sleep without nightmares.

"But seriously," Sinbad laughed, after Ja'far calmed down somewhat. "You all have come a long way and grown so much-Even Ja'far."  
And the brief period of calm left Ja'far as quickly as it came.

Mystras scoffed softly, smiling. "What's the point? It's not much compared to that guy."

Sakura smacked her forehead, there were times being the only female amongst the group was truly punishing.

The door creaked open and in walked the red headed Fanalis, pardoning as he held up several large piles of papers for Sinbad to read, approve and sign. 'That guy' Mystras referred to, was all too clear after Masrur put the stacks on Sinbad's desk and went to stand in between Ja'far and Sharrkan, dwarfing the Heliohapt prince who was a year older and matching the ex-chief of assassins who was five years older.

"Hey don't stand next to me." Sharrkan slouched, depressed.

Ja'far kept his posture straight, but trembling angrily. "Shar, you can't say that! It's like you're admitting defeat!"

Sakura chuckled, she wondered if Masrur was going to outgrow Ja'far as well. He didn't seem to have a high growth rate to begin with.

Sinbad cut the height debate short, turning to a matter that had everyone's ear and standing straight in respect. "Thank you all, really. The fact that we only have three months left until the ceremony is on account of your hard work and support. Thank you for staying by my side and believing in me."

Sakura swallowed hard, she felt something bitter on the tip of her tongue.

"Like a symbol of strength and new hope, you will become the future of this country." Sinbad stated, his eyes getting the familiar gleam of firmness and strength that swayed minds and captured hearts. "I, Sinbad, with the support of the seven of you want to create a new nation under the name of the Kingdom of Sindria. You will guide Sindria as its seven generals."

While Sakura noticed the odds in the number, Sharrkan was the first to point it out. "Wait a minute, I'm not included!?"

"Hm? Yeah, you're not." Sinbad replied coyly. "Because you don't have a household vessel yet. When you find your special talent one day, you can be part of the generals."

Sharrkan looked back at Masrur, who he had considered his underling and went ballistic, throwing his arms in the air and waving them around. "I want to be a general too!"

"Okay, Okay!" Sinbad exclaimed, holding out his hands in surrender, "Well it's decided then."

Sinbad looked at each individual as he addressed them, "Drakon, Ja'far, Vittel, Mahad, Hinahoho, Mystras, Masrur, Sharrkan….This is the formation of the eight generals of Sindria."

Everyone put their hands together, bowing their heads in respect to Sinbad-their future king.

Sakura did the same, silent and secretly relieved she had not been chosen as a general. She would have protested as well against being excluded from the count but she had other matters on her mind. As she was right now as enough. Also, the nine generals of Sindria didn't have the same harmonic ring to it as the counter.

"Wait," Ja'far said, lowering his hands "Why wasn't Sakura selected as a general?"

Everyone looked at the pinkette, and started questioning the same.

"That's right, she is one of your first companions Sinbad." Drakon pointed out.

"And she tops you four djinns to three." Hinahoho added.

"She's also strong," Masrur said.

"And she can use-

Sinbad stood up from his chair, spreading out his arms and holding up his palms, signing for everyone to silence. "Alright, Alright, I get it everyone. Look Sakura can't be a general."

Now Sakura was really skeptical, as well as offended.

Then, he looked at Sakura, holding out his hand for her to take. Sakura came over to the side of his desk, taking Sinbad's hand, her heart beating and internally feeling a sliver of dread. He then looked back to the group of eight.

"You better give Sakura the attire speech too Ja'far," Sinbad grinned widely and everyone waited anxious for what was to be said next.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Because Sindria's also going to have a queen."

* * *

Sakura would not have believed the chaos a few short words could cause until she had seen what took place in Sinbad's office with her own eyes. The way everyone had gone from composed to complete lunatics in a matter of seconds. There wasn't even a brief pausing, where the shock paralyzed all manner of communication however there was some speech impediments then.

On the floor, leaning against the foot of the bed, her knees tucked under her chin; in the room with no candle light under the slow setting sun, Sakura sat. This had been her position for hours, she didn't' want to leave it.

Recalling what happened to that morning meeting after Sinbad's declaration.

 _Ja'far (like everyone else) was gaping widely with his mouth open, like he was desperate for air, except this time it was words he wanted. "W-W-W-WHAT?"_

" _QUEEN!?" Drakon exclaimed._

" _REALLY!" Sharrkan asked, throwing his arms to the back, his eyes shimmering in awe._

 _Sinbad's smile broadened, his hold on Sakura's hand strengthened as he pulled her closer. While Sakura remained still and silent, it was as if she had gone into some kind of shock-coma and couldn't wake up. Couldn't bring herself to question anything._

" _Of course; Sakura is going to be queen," Sinbad looked at her, tilting Sakura's head to meet his eyes, he brought his hand to take in her other, bringing it to his lips and kissing her. "My queen."_

 _Everyone watched the pair as they stared at one another, their eyes meeting, holding hands and they were washed with a wave of happiness and satisfaction. What had been a joke in the past to fluster the teens, was to become a serious truth._

" _Well, then let me be the first to say congratulations to our king and queen." Drakon said, bowing his head. "I am certain that the two of you will rule the Kingdom of Sindria, to greatness; raising it high."_

" _Finally," Hinahoho said, placing his hands on his hips, his chin raise. "I've got to tell Rurumu."_

" _And Pipirika!" Mystras added._

" _There's someone who will keep you in your place Sin," Ja'far chided, "You're definitely going to need a change of clothes now too, Sakura."_

" _I'm going to make the official announcement at the ceremony," Sinbad told them. "So we have to make sure everything is prepared."_

* * *

Sakura sat there, starring into nothing for hours; she didn't go in to work that day. While everyone was busy celebrating, Sakura had barely said a word. She excused herself and didn't look back, no one seemed to suspect her surprise to the situation. After Sinbad had made that bold statement; Sakura felt like something inside of her had shifted, when realization set in and she concluded what made her stomach twist painfully, her heart clenched and ach with every beat and tears threatened to pour out of her eyes and never stop.

"He never even asked."

* * *

 _Sakura let out a small shriek when Yunan removed his staff from above her head, it was like a weight had started to pile on her shoulders and finally became too much because she fell to her knees, trembling with wide eyes. Sakura could barely keep herself up, as her arms threatened to give in, but she had this overwhelming feeling of nausea and was worried she might regurgitate whatever was left in her stomach. She couldn't even breathe properly anymore, overwhelmed with what little she saw and even more with what she heard. Yunan had used his magic to show her what he has seen and what he had heard. Everything that he knew, about her world. Yunan had clearly been around for a long time-Sakura was certain of this from what she had seen. He knew; what she was certain had been a sealed passed, the moments that shaped history in her world and she-she couldn't fathom them. What she now knew…_

" _I'm sorry." Yunan walked towards Sakura, he crouched down and started rubbing her back. "I didn't want to show you all of this but-but if you really are going to stay here; you need to know and really understand. You can't decide while ignorant Sakura, not after all you've done to get back home."_

 _Sakura was still trying to regulate her breathing, she felt her eyes burning but she still tried to hold back her tears, because she wasn't sure if she could stop them once they began._

" _T-T-T-That," Sakura inhaled deeply, she couldn't think of anything to respond to what she had just seen and heard._

" _I know," Yunan said, still rubbing the pinkettes back. "Your world's history, their truths, it's not easy to comprehend."_

" _Why, why?" Sakura asked, her voice shaking. "Why would you show me this?"_

 _Yunan removed his hand before placing the Looking Glass in Sakura's line of sight. He stood up and Sakura listened to the sound of Yunan's boots against the wooden bridge. "You know; I think that Sinbad has all the qualities to become a great king who can change the world, but it also scares me and what terrifies me even more is…_

 _Yunan looked back at Sakura, meeting her eyes. "He doesn't know the kind of power you give him."_

 _Sakura felt lost, "The kind of power I give him?"_

" _I'll be really worried if he becomes aware of it." Yunan started walking again, refusing to elaborate any further, but Sakura didn't care much to find out anything else. Not after all she had just discovered and was still attempting to process. There were still blanks in everything Yunan knew because he didn't all of his time in her world, but Sakura still struggled to accept what she now knew as the truth. "You're a king's candidate too, Sakura."_

" _Wait-that still doesn't answer my question!" Sakura called, still unable to gather her baring's._

 _Yunan paused, "It's just, when I look at you now, it's like you're not here anymore."_

 _Yunan vanished into nothing, leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts. After nearly ten minutes, she crept to the edge of the peer and leaned over. Looking at her reflection in the water, to the girl with the pale face, sunken cheeks, a constant dreary look in her eyes…_

" _Who are you?"_

* * *

There were moments in time we wished we could destroy, never mind revert because it wasn't only the choice made in that time but everything that had factored and created the path that lead to that curving decision. Sakura couldn't bring herself to admit to that moment, because the more she thought about it, the more she realized she would never be able to place it.

As she looked around their room through the darkness, her eyes landed on the chest sitting in the moonlight.

 _Her eyes seemed to become entranced, she reached out a delicate hand towards the mirror to touch her reflection. The moment her hand came into contact with the glass something magical happened._

 _Sakura's hand went straight through it and the mirror shone brightly snapping the girl out of her trance. She tried pulling her hand back but to no avail and soon the rest of her followed being drawn into the mirror like a magnet._

 _She yelled out as she was drawn into the mirror having little knowledge that as she entered the mirror began to crack slowly from the corner leading down wards until finally..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _It shattered_

* * *

" _Oh might djinn of strength and discord use my magoi and obey my will...BELETH"_

 _Sakura raised her hand and fired again but as she did she heard someone shouting._

" _BAAL"_

 _The crackling sound of lightning-a sound she knew well from her world. Her flames were met with the strike of lightning coming directly at her. They two attacks seemed to cancel each other out and there was an explosion creating a large amount of vapour in the air._

' _Where did that come from?' she wondered trying to see through the steam._

 _Then something emerged from the mist; Sakura unsuspecting was pushed into the cold snow; the heat created from battle started to wear off. Sakura groaned; her teeth started to chatter from the cold as she was held down._

" _Why are you-huh a girl?"_

 _Opening her eyes emerald clashed with gold and Sakura gasped as she came face to face with a young boy; he couldn't be older than fourteen or fifteen. He had long purple hair; she could see his pony tail hanging over his shoulder and lightly ticking her face-had she been two years younger she would've been jealous as she always wanted to have super long hair in order to impress the boy she admired. He was staring down at her with curious eyes._

 _The pinkette heard the fluttering again; softly she tried to focus her eyes to try and see again._

 _Sakura continued to stare at the boy who did the same in turn before he grinned down at her._

" _You know you're really cute!"_

* * *

 _Sakura reached forward to the source of the creation of darkness, Sinbad did the same as well but unlike him Sakura did not know what she was actually doing._

" _Don't!" Valefor called "A human body can't handle the strain!"_

 _It was far too late to pull back as the two attached themselves to the dark core._

 _There was no turning back._

" _Don't let go." Sinbad told her as they began descending into the unknown. For reassurance Sakura squeezed his hand as they continue to fall._

* * *

" _Are you going to move forward with us to?" Ja'far asked "Stay with us?"_

 _Sakura gave a sad smile "My case isn't as simple as that, I have a lot of unfinished business I need to take care of thanks to the decisions I made in the past, I can't put it behind me because I've dragged so many people into it and have made them make me so many difficult promises. Unlike the rest of you I don't deserve to move forward when I've pulled so many people back."_

* * *

 _Rurumu placed a hand on the pinkette's shoulder "I'm aware that your heart is set on someone else at the moment but keep in mind that hearts can change."_

* * *

" _Sin-_

 _Her voice was muffled as her mouth was sealed shut, her eyes were bulging, her mind unable to process anything, turning blank, her body felt light as if something was lifting her from the ground, there was a warm bubbling inside her stomach that twisted into knots she couldn't untangle, she felt all the air leave her body while she stood as though petrified, frozen. She couldn't see anything other than gold and she couldn't feel anything aside from the arms wrapped around her, she didn't notice anything either-which was going to prove to be her downfall._

 _The gold began to vanish and she heard Sinbad murmur "See you soon,"_

* * *

" _What is it like to be in love?" Sinbad asked again without struggle._

" _W-Why would you ask me a question like that?"_

 _Sinbad shrugged, "I'm just kind of curious."_

" _Well it's um….." Sakura paused, thinking carefully about how she was going to word this. "It's not really a feeling you can explain, it's just something you know…You know you're in love with a person when you're willing to do anything for them no matter the consequences, no matter how much it hurts, even if it costs you everything…."_

" _That's a lot of sacrifice," Sinbad frowned, arms crossed._

 _Sakura shrugged "No one ever said love was fair but I do know this…" she placed a hand over her heart, "I would do anything for the sake of seeing the person I love happy even if it meant I wouldn't be."_

* * *

" _Your appearance, your abilities, your djinn's, your strange power; none of that matters. You don't have to use any of it to help the company or me. As long as you remain where I can see you-that's all I care about." Sinbad stated_

* * *

" _My question for the king vessels." Zepar began, while the two stared at one another. "If you were awarded the metal vessel. How would you use it?"_

 _Sakura responded first, barely giving it a thought. "I would use the power to help Sinbad change the world. To achieve his goal of creating his own country. I've seen this world and its injustices. Sinbad wishes to create a world free of conflict and I will do whatever it takes to help him achieve that goal."_

* * *

" _Sure took us a while to get here huh?" Sinbad asked, brushing a few wet strands across her forehead._

" _Mmm," Sakura hummed tired but content. "Whole thing finally feels right though."_

* * *

" _But you've changed quite a bit yourself haven't you, Sakura?"_

" _No; I'd like to think I still have a long way to go. I want to be able to stand on my own without hurting or being a burden to anyone. If I can do that…." Sakura put her hands above her chest, smiling at nothing in particular. "Then I can always be a source of strength for Sinbad."_

" _You're always fighting for him Sakura, but let me ask you this. Have you ever once wanted to be the one fought for?"_

 _Sakura paused, thinking carefully for a moment and then shaking her head. "Sinbad wants to be king and I want to be by his side. He has the ability to become king, but if I want to stand by him, I need to be the one who fights and not be fought for or he might lose his goal."_

* * *

" _I'm afraid I'll lose him, because I won't have what it takes to stand beside him anymore."_

* * *

" _Sakura." Engulfing the pinkette in a tight embrace, Sinbad whispered softly in her ear. "I promise, I won't ever leave you alone. I won't only build a country to change the world, but to make a home for you as well and I will always be by your side. So let it go. Let it all go and just stay with me."_

* * *

" _You said you love me, you said that you chose your own selfish desires over everything else. So tell me; do you want me?"_

 _Sakura narrowed her eyes, clenching her teeth as she answered. Truthfully yet painfully. "Yes, I want you."_

" _Do you want to be with me?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Will you deny me?"_

" _Why are you asking me this?" Sakura asked, not for an answer but to stall for time. In the futility of finding an alternate solution and plant a seed of hope that wouldn't breed eternal misery._

" _Our hands are already dirty, there is nothing we can do to remedy that. Saving one life wont' bring back one that's been taken. All we can do is keeping moving forward even if we have to bath in the dark we keeping moving. Eyes straight ahead, towards the goal." Sakura didn't flinch when she felt Sinbad's fingers clutch into her skin._

" _That's what I decided, that is the sin that I am willing to carry, now it's up to you to choose; to make you decision and you should know this. You're either behind me, beside me or in my way; so I'm going to ask you again Sakura…."_

 _When he didn't continue, Sakura's eyes met his and she realized that he was waiting for her to look at him again._

" _Will you deny me?"_

 _Sakura didn't try to hopelessly stall or flinch in her answer because what she said next was the truth._

 _The cold, hard, painful truth._

" _No."_

* * *

" _There is one more thing you should know Sinbad. Your interloper emits a sense that she is 'not like other's' and that tends to capture interests. Because she is what you would need in order to thrive beyond the flow of destiny and set yourself high. She is an asset."_

 _Sinbad replied immediately, correcting Falan's statement. "She's my partner."_

" _She is what you make her."_

* * *

" _You can't get swept up in someone else's fate Sakura! If you feel like you have to prove your worth to someone, then you should just walk away. I have chosen my own path; you should choose yours. Stop using love as an excuse to stay and stop trying so hard to change or you'll forget who you are!"_

" _Why, Sakura?"_

" _Because I love him Serendine."_

 _Stomping her foot on the wooden floors, causing a light tremor, Serendine cried out. "That can't always be your excuse Sakura!"_

" _It's not an excuse, it's the truth!" Sakura exclaimed, her voice equally powerful. "And if you just stay here, I'm sure you'll see it is! Sinbad is going to change the world! Who wouldn't want to be a part of that!?"_

 _Serendine shook her head in disbelief, giving a blank smile. "Sakura…listen to yourself. You don't see your own worth because of him! You're not working towards standing beside him because he is going to hide you in his shadow! Change is one thing, but it's another to forget who you are. And one day you're going to look at yourself and see a stranger. So for once do yourself a favor and leave!"_

…

" _It doesn't matter." Sakura's expression was stoic, she held her hands at her sides limply. Her tone was dull but it cut through Serendine like the finest blade. "Without Sinbad, I have nothing, no purpose, nowhere to go. I have already done things; it's too late for me to go back. My family, friends and home are no longer within my reach. If he uses my love to move towards his goal, I will."_

* * *

Sakura held her stoic expression as she watched Orias, who was waiting, impatiently, with her hands on her hips, her chin raise high and eyes narrowed in expectation.

"What did you ask me?"

Orias raised an eyebrow, unamused by the fact that she had to repeat herself. "I believe I was clear but I'll ask again. What do you plan to do once you conquer my dungeon?"

Sakura's stoic expression fell, her thin lips curved upward on the ends as she opened her mouth.

"I…."

* * *

Today had been especially long for Sinbad; after his declaration that morning, everyone was taken over by their own excitement. They asked him questions, mostly about what his plans were going to be now for the future in terms of him and Sakura but he didn't feed them much information. It should've been obvious though. The two had been together for such a long time and Sinbad had been thinking about this longer than anyone really knew.

Sinbad stopped when he reached his room's door, putting his hand in his pocket before reaching for the handle. As he walked into the room, excitement already swelled in the pit of his belly as he looked around for the pinkette in the dimly lit room. He saw her standing in front of the bed, near the chaise. Despite the time of night, she was dressed in her everyday clothing and a solemn expression on her face.

"Sakura; it's late why are you still in your clothes?" he asked, stepping towards her but stopped shortly after she didn't respond.

"Sakura, what's-

When Sakura cut Sinbad off, he heard it, the disdain in her voice. "I couldn't…"

"Huh?"

With her arms held tightly at her sides, Sakura stared at her feet shaking her head lightly. "I must have rehearsed this a hundred times in my head…."

Sinbad frowned, wanting to come closer towards her but every time she spoke he would stop and she would continue to speak to the ground.

"What I would say…."

"Sakura…"

"How I was going to say it."

"Sakura please just-

Drawing a deep breath, she continued, her voice beginning to break. "I thought-I thought, that this would be easier somehow. How stupid….just-just because I had made up my mind, but now when I see you standing here-I'm so stupid."

"What is going on Sakura?"

The pinkette shook her head roughly. "I told myself so strongly-I said that this-this was for the best. Th-That-That I-I have to…."

When Sinbad saw the shining drops, ready to turn into tears, he lurched forward. His arms wrapped around the distressed pinkette, pulling her close. He felt her tense for a few moments and then slacken. He wanted to know what had caused her to become this distraught out of nowhere and he was going to ask her, but before he could speak-she did.

"I'm leaving."

With eyes widened, Sinbad pulled away, holding Sakura literally an arms-length away by her shoulders. Looking into her eyes, with the hopes of confirming that he had misheard her or that she was just playing a joke. Instead of reassurance, what he saw in those glossy eyes; it made him feel nothing but dread.

"Sakura," He forced a smile as he said her name, "What are you talking about?"

Sakura closed her eyes after seeing his smile, she felt her tears smear against her eyelids as she struggled to breathe. "Why is it so hard…..why is it so hard; to look at the person you love and say it's time to leave?"

Sinbad's breath caught in his throat, he shook his head in disbelief. "Sakura, no, no, no, this-you're-you're not leaving-you're not leaving."

Bringing her hand to wipe her face, Sakura began to take several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. She wouldn't be able to speak clearly and make Sinbad fully understand, if she continued to cry and stutter. After some sniffling and more deep breathes; when she felt her eyes dry, Sakura opened her mouth.

"I was actually going to leave while you weren't here, to be honest I wanted to-I knew it would be easier than facing you." Sakura said, turning her head to the window. "But then I thought….the pain it would cause. The pain when someone leaves without saying a word, making you feel like you weren't worth an explanation."

Sinbad took one step forward, towards her but Sakura took one back in turn. "Sakura, don't tell me…."

"I am leaving Sinbad," Sakura confirmed, her mouth going dry. A single tear fell from her eye, down her cheek, collecting at her chin and dripping on the floor.

"Where are you going?" Sinbad asked "Where could you possibly-

"I'm going home Sinbad. My home-my world-I'm going back."

It felt like all the blood in Sinbad's veins became ice, his body stiffened, but it was far from numb as he felt a pain beginning to settle in his gut; slowly building.

"Home…." Sinbad clenched his fists, tightening his jaw as his hurt began conducting feelings of anger and betrayal. He didn't care now for an explanation as to how she was going to get back home, all he cared about was the reason why she was leaving him now.

"Why now?" he asked, his voice like shards of ice, piercing into Sakura. "Why are you doing this now?"

Sakura didn't flinch at Sinbad's cold words, having already experienced them. She was able to keep her voice steady. "I can't do this anymore Sinbad."

"Do what?" he snapped.

"This! I can't keep doing this anymore!" Sakura gestured between her and Sinbad with her arms. "The way we are right now!"

"What's wrong with the way we are!?"

Sakura pointed at him, her voice going quiet again "That right there…..that's the problem. You don't see it…you don't realize it. Look at us Sinbad. Everything we've done together. The lies we have told, the things we done to get here, the lives we have destroyed!"

Sinbad scoffed, "Is that what this is about? What happened on this island? Is that it?"

"This isn't just about that." Sakura clenched her teeth, hitting the side of her leg as her frustration began to grow. "It's everything that's lead us here."

"Listen Sakura, we both made our choice."

"You made me choose!" Sakura snapped.

"And you chose me!" Sinbad pointed out, "You had a choice and you made it! You could've refused to help in the rebellion, you could've chosen not to be with me, not to have killed, not to abandon those people, you could've chosen to leave with Serendine or Prince Hakuyuu but instead you chose me. You chose this life. This world. And that's not sitting so well with you because now it's just rotting inside of you. What's funny is-it's not so much the choice you made but the fact that you are capable of making those kinds of decisions. But guess what; I love you anyway. The same way you love me."

Sakura covered her face with her hands, sighing heavily but still didn't respond to Sinbad.

"You already decided what you want Sakura."

"What I want," Sakura removed her hands, looking straight into Sinbad's eyes. "All I want is freedom."

"Freedom…?" Sinbad shrugged, with a confused and partially hostile expression.

"From you." Sakura clarified, her voice strengthening and held together with pain. "From the promise I forced on Naruto, from Sasuke, from everything. I don't want to be tied to anyone anymore. I don't want to be the one walking the path of someone else's destiny all the time. I want the freedom to have my own path. I want to take on my own path."

"You want to run!" Sinbad exclaimed, slamming his foot on the ground. "That is it! You are running! From the life you could have and the responsibilities that come with it."

Sakura bit her bottom lip, chewing on it slightly before releasing, a splatter of blood could be seen as she spoke with a metallic taste in her mouth. "You're right. I am running, I am running away-from you because I can't take this anymore. I can't take closing my eyes and waiting for my mistakes to appear in my dreams. I can't take that every time I look at my hands, I remind myself how sullied they are. And I can't take not breathing for you, I can't take waiting for you, watching for you. I can't take the fact that you control me!"

Sinbad was taken aback by her last declaration, he opened his mouth to argue against that but Sakura wouldn't have it.

"I have suffered, scraped and bled for you. I have destroyed everything I am for you. I tried so hard to change because I wanted to be what you needed; to be able to stand by you. Every choice I make is to benefit you. You own me," Sakura threw her hand out gesturing to Sinbad, sneering lightly. "But did you even care? Did you ever think, about what I am giving up?"

"Sakura-

"Remember what you said to me? What was it Sinbad?" Sakura interjected, her face twisting in pain, "You're either behind me, beside me, or in my way….where was the choice in that when you knew I loved you? When you knew, I couldn't possibly refuse you anymore. That wasn't a choice-that was manipulation. That was your revenge."

Sinbad frowned, "Revenge, for what-

"Everything!" Sakura snapped, throwing arms up into the air and then down at her side. After another few deep breaths, she spoke again. "I just can't figure out what was worse. When I had left you all those times to pursue my own goals; or was it when I came back but you found there were still other's that wanted me? Or could it have been that secret about who I really was? Where I came from? Did you somehow, come to resent me because of that? Do I owe you now because of it? Because you decided that you wanted me anyway?"

Sakura's expression was fierce, yet she could feel the shield she had up beginning to break on its own. Her weakness returning and she wanted to get everything out before then. "Tell me Sinbad, what must I do to prove I am indebted to you for taking me off my difficult path to return home? For all the promises you made me, for loving me? Be your girlfriend, your queen, your property?"

"That isn't true Sakura. None of that…." Sinbad said shaking his head, his eyes softening.

Sakura shook her head, "You didn't even ask me if I wanted to be your queen."

"Because I thought we already decided! I need you Sakura!"

"Is this because of what Falan told you?" Sakura asked, "Because she told you I was an asset?"

"Because this," Sinbad gestured around to the large room, "This place, this life, this goal, is what we've been working towards for so long!"

"It's what you've been working towards Sinbad." Sakura replied, "I just-I just followed your lead. I walked away from everything I am, so that I could follow you. But not anymore."

"Sakura please, don't…" Sinbad's voice grew soft "I love you."

Sakura laughed dryly, "Now I can hear it as an excuse."

"It's not an excuse Sakura!" Sinbad stated strongly,

"It is! It's why I have given you everything! My virtue, my morals, my abilities, my life!" Sakura's eyes filled with tears again and she moved away when Sinbad attempted to reach out for her again.

"Sakura…." Sinbad stared longingly at the pinkette, his face softening. "I love you. I really do, with everything I am. You own me. You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me. And believing that I am worth changing for-is giving me too much credit and yourself not nearly enough."

"We weren't even supposed to meet," Sakura choked out softly, clutching the top of her shirt. "We were never meant to be."

Sinbad began to slowly step towards Sakura, continuing to speak. "It doesn't matter where you came from, because in any world, in any lifetime, I would find you and I would want to be with you."

Sakura kept quiet, lowering her gaze once again. She heard Sinbad talk and she could feel, that there was a smile on his face.

"In fact, I bet that in another version of reality; we're already married, we have four children and we live in a quiet house out in the wilderness with lots of room for the kids to play, friendly neighbors who look out for us and who we share our harvest with."

A small snicker left Sakura, feeling her shoulders become lighter. "So we're farmers?"

"No, I'm a fishermen but we also own a plot of land that we use to grow potatoes and other vegetables-oh and we have four tree's that we planted for every child we have. Two are peach and the other two are cherry trees. We also have a large dog that keeps away all the pesky animals since we live so far out." Sinbad stated, as if he was speaking fact.

"And four kids?" Sakura put her hand on her hips. "Really? I thought you didn't want kids."

"You swayed me." Sinbad shrugged, "Boy's for me, girls for you. We're still young, so we've got some time to get to eight."

Sakura giggled, smiling softly despite the tear drops gathering in the corner of her eyes again. "That sounds like a wonderful life. Simple yet wonderful."

Sinbad nodded in agreement.

"But not ours." Sakura added sadly.

Sinbad shook his head, "Not ours."

Being surrounded by silence while wrapped in darkness, blunting the sense of sight and hearing, allowed Sinbad and Sakura to truly begin to sense, to understand and feel each other's emotions. Their minds reaching clarity without the guidance of their other senses and in a moment, they both reached a tragic epiphany. One that took them to a new height of growth but did so in the most painfully agonizing way. As they both finally came to resolve, that there was only one solution.

Sinbad and Sakura stood in front of one another, face to face in the moonlight. Their eyebrows curling up towards their foreheads, their eyes glossy, on the verge of tears that they continued to hold back and their mouths in a straight line.

This was it. Their final goodbye.

"You must really hate me, for falling in love with you." Sinbad said, smiling distressed. "But I still hope that you will remember me, as the man who would have cherished you, if he had been given another chance."

Glancing to his side, he reached into his pocket, pulling out something which made Sakura's breath hitch softly. He held out his palm to reveal a small black box. "It's a ring, very rare, actually one of a kind, in fact it even has a name…Tifl Malak. I wanted to give this to you at the opening ceremony but…."

Sakura stared at the box, blinking quickly, her fingers curled towards her chest, quivering. When she spoke, her voice grew husky despite her attempts to keep it soft. She looked up at Sinbad. "I don't want a ring from you."

Sinbad didn't flinch at her statement, hearing the pain in her voice when she spoke. "Then don't think of it as a ring, don't think of it as…" Sinbad looked at the box and then back to Sakura. "You don't have to love me; you don't have to come back to me, but if you could wear this-If I know that you were wearing this-then even if you hate me…

Sinbad tilted his head slightly to the side, a tear falling from his right eye and down his cheek that he leaned downward. "We'll be fine…I'll know you're out there."

Rolling her bottom lip, scraping it with her teeth before looking down to the box. Sakura took it, careful not to allow her fingers to graze Sinbad's skin when she did. For a minute, she did nothing but eye the box, before swallowing and then opening it. There she saw it.

Contrary to Sinbad's flashy taste in everything, including jewelry, this ring was in short, simplistically beautiful. The casing was black gold, in a knot, with two diamond studs on the either side of a marquise shaped amethyst gem, which was thrice as large as the studs.

Sakura picked the ring from its position in the box and rolled it between her fingers, never daring to see how it would fit.

"Tifl Malak huh?"

Sinbad breathed out a laugh, "It actually means baby angel."

Sakura smiled, looking at Sinbad with a hint of smugness, "You want me to call a ring, baby angel?"

Sinbad didn't blink at what he stated next, smiling with serious eyes. "I want you, to be happy."

Sniffing, Sakura put the ring back in the box. She took a step before she was in front of Sinbad. Her arms wrapped behind his neck, she leaned upward as he leaned down. Their eyes closing, as their lips brushed against each other like petals, soft yet worn. Sinbad got a hint of a metallic taste as he kissed Sakura, but he didn't stop. When they pulled away, breathing softly against one another, their chest rising and falling and in that moment as they stared into each other's eyes, they could see and feel that they were really breathing in sync.

"I could never hate you."

Sakura pressed her forehead against Sinbad's, before she lifted her chin to meet his lips once again. Sinbad's hands held tightly onto Sakura's waist as the two began taking steps. Their steps continued through the room, beating softly on the floors until Sakura's legs hit the back of the bed and she allowed herself to fall with Sinbad. Despite what was about to occur, they both knew that this would be the last and for one more night, one more time, one moment, it would just be the two of them once again. Neither world; a factor or a problem. Just them.

Just Sinbad and Sakura.

For one more night.

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There was hardly an utter of a word, during their embrace of passion that night. Despite knowing that this was going to be their last moment and consenting to it as one. They did not attempt to speak much; unlike the first time, when there had been a constant stream of reassurance, but this time there was none. As there was nothing to assure. They both knew how that night was going to end and they believed it best, to keep those thoughts to the side. Verbalizing would only have sullied their moment, when they were able to take a period to forget everything and see nothing but each other. The person they loved. The same tenderness and patience had been there as it had been on the first night. Grasping and pulling onto the thinnest threads, to make their moment last a little longer. Despite the inevitable.

Sinbad slumped forward, careful not to throw all of his weight on top of Sakura. Their chests held together and for a second, just a second; they thought they could feel each other's heartbeats in sync. Still breathing heavily, Sinbad pushed himself up and to the side, his arm falling over Sakura's waist to draw her into him.

"Sinbad…" Sakura trailed her hand across the boy's bangs that were sticking to his forehead. His eyes were closed in content and she didn't want it to end but this was it. She needed to leave.

"Please; not yet." Sakura gasped as she heard the plea in Sinbad's voice, the pain and desperation. It was as if a child's voice had left him. He placed his head on Sakura's chest an she could feel it, the warm droplets falling down onto her skin, his trembling shoulder's as he held her tight.

"Sinbad-

"Just a little longer." He begged, his breath tickling her heated skin. "Just a little longer. Please."

Closing her eyes, Sakura wrapped her arms around Sinbad, her fingers gliding through his hair slowly and rubbing his back, lulling him to sleep, despite his efforts to stay awake. She kissed his head as he continued to hold onto her for as long as he could, crying silently and she could've sworn that those muffles she heard was repeated, 'I'm sorry.'

* * *

A few hours, Sakura stayed like that; until she felt Sinbad's body become lax, his breathing slowed and his hold loosened. Pushing the boy slightly back on his shoulder's Sakura observed his sleeping face under the moonlight. She wiped the dry tears from his eyes, running her fingers along his lips before pulling back.

"Thank you Sinbad," Sakura whispered to him, smiling softly. She kissed him before speaking again, "Thank you for giving me the courage to love someone else and for showing me what it's like to be loved in return. Thank you for loving me."

Moving out from beneath the warm sheets, stepping out of the bed, Sakura's feet softly touched the floor without a single patter as she glided across the bed; careful not to wake Sinbad. Finding her clothes that lied scattered across the floor and putting them back on. She was about to walk to her trunk to get her metal vessels, when her foot knocked against something on the floor, it was light.

Sakura bent down to pick up what she had accidently kicked, it was the box that held the ring Sinbad wanted her to have. She opened the box and when her eyes landed on the ring, Sakura sniffed softly as she turned back to Sinbad, who was still sleeping peacefully.

"Thank you for everything."

Sakura slipped the ring onto her finger. She made her way to the trunk to gather her metal vessels and Looking glass.

 _Fix that which has been broken_

 _Mend that which has been destroyed_

 _And return to where you belong_

 _Find those who have been scattered_

 _To retrieve that which has been shattered_

 _Djinns that lie within a vessel or dungeon_

 _Will help you mend what has been broken._

 _Permission from a king is required_

 _To achieve what is desired_

 _And with each piece that you have mended_

 _A new window shall be descended_

 _A gift for your deeds_

 _A wish for your needs_

 _Will lead you closer to the next piece_

* * *

"What I am going to do…." Sakura exhaled, ignoring the continuous rumbling of the structure on the verge of falling. Her eyes closing in content, eyes burning but no more tears rushing like a dam had broken within her. Sakura looked back to Orias, with a bright smile but determined and strong eyes that contrasted it.

"I am going to use this power, to change my world." Sakura stated

"Is that it?" Orias asked.

"That's it."

Orias, who was leaning on her hand with an indifferent expression suddenly smirked at the girl. For she felt the truth the pinkette's words. She held nothing more than a single wish and it was obviously one she intended to realize.

"Well then…."

Orias brought down her hand towards Sakura's face, opening her fist to reveal two objects; the first was a beautiful silver necklace, with teardrop ruby and a small piece of glass where that Sakura could see a part of her reflection in. Sakura took the necklace from the djinn's hand and watched as it began to glow a blinding light, along with Orias herself.

"Let us change your world-my king."

The final shard began to fill itself into the Looking Glass, slowly mending in with the rest of the mirror. It then started lifting from Sakura's hands into the air, raising above her head. Sakura watched carefully, anticipation growing without her and then she was blinded by a bright light. Her body felt like it was being pulled against her will in and then, nothing but darkness followed.

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Her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes nothing but brown mixed with bright splotches. Sakura wiped her eyes, once, twice, three times, blinking rapidly. She attempted to push her body up, failing the first time she tried. Her body felt heavy, as if it wanted to keep her on the hard ground but tired of breathing in dirt, Sakura forced herself to sit up. She craned her neck from side to side, groaning when she heard a crack. She attempted to collect her thoughts; she had come back from a mission, Tsunade asked her to check the tunnels in the mountain and then….

Then a clicking after she moved her hands on the ground when she shifted her body. Her head throbbed painfully on the side. Sakura groaned, touching her forehead, when she did though, something cold came into contact along with her hand.

Sakura pulled back her hand quickly in alarm and her eyes settled on the ring that was on her index finger. Her mouth opened slightly wider than needed as she began taking in breaths. She saw the bracelet on her arm, the necklace and ring around her neck, the dagger strapped to her waist and taking off her headband-the eight pointed star with the leaf symbol in the center.

" _Nice to see you have awakened king." Orias's voice rang through her head, startling Sakura._

" _My king, are you alright?" asked Beleth_

" _What happened?" asked Gaap_

" _I don't know." Sitri replied._

" _I believe we have entered through the Looking Glass." Stolas replied._

"It was all real." Sakura smiled, despite the tears that she didn't notice until now. Her heart felt like it was being painfully crushed and yet relief filled her as it did.

"Of course, it was."

Turning around, Yunan stood behind the pinkette, giving her a small smile. "Hello Sakura."

"Yunan." Sakura wiped her face, forcing herself to stand with a bit of a struggle.

"It seems like the magic is causing your body a bit of strain," Yunan said, holding out his hand. He waited until Sakura took it. He led her in front of the large mirror, standing fully intact now.

"Careful not to touch it." Yunan said partially joking but Sakura didn't hear him.

She took a step closer to the mirror, examining her reflection. Her pink hair wasn't long anymore, only reaching her neck and barely grazing her shoulders. Her face seemed, fuller compared to how sunken in she had been before but her features had become softer again, her body was no longer toned from the hardships it had endured and it felt like she had been slipped into someone else's skin, except she knew this skin. Her skin. From a time that felt like a dream, and she had just fallen asleep.

Sakura touched her face, then her forehead where the hundred healing seal once was, and looked back at Yunan. "I'm really back."

"The same day, same time, nothing has changed."

"Nothing has changed out there." Sakura sniffed, turning away from the mirror, she put her hand over her chest, feeling her own heartbeat. "But in here…."

"Yes." Yunan's eyes softened. "What has been gained from that world, will not be reversed."

Sakura swallowed heavily, joy and sadness clashing, creating a storm within. Closing her eyes, Sakura saw the flashing memories of herself in the other world, with a certain purple haired boy looking back at her, smiling with bright golden eyes. This caused Sakura to feel like her insides were ready to twist and churn. She wanted to cry again, to sob; her lip was trembling and the tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes, but she didn't.

'Let's go change the world.'

Swallowing hard, Sakura straightened her back, facing forward she looked towards the exit of the secret cave. Yunan watched as the pinkette started making her way out, stopping only for a moment to look back at him and smile, with silent thanks before making her way out into the light.

Yunan remained behind, standing beside the Looking Glass. He reached out, touching the mirror and a light began to envelope him. To return to that world, where he would wait and watch, eager yet terrified to see the kind of world that Sinbad would create and then come back here again, to see how Sakura would shape her world. Then maybe, just maybe, someday, Sakura and Sinbad would find a way to walk the same path together again, because even if fate had not meant for them to be together; the two showed that they were more than capable of shaping their own destiny.

With that Yunan started slipping away into the mirror, the rukh swarmed around him, creating a twister.

"Welcome home, Sakura."

* * *

The feeling was nostalgic, stepping out into the village for the first time in years. Nothing had really changed since leaving, not even the way the wind blew through the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Standing from on top of a large steel pole, everything could be seen throughout the village, including Hokage Mountain, with the five faces carved side by side in it. Leaning back and drawing a breath, the figure dressed in orange and black stood tall from the top called out loudly, happily.

"Everyone, Naruto Uzumaki has returned!"

As the blonde haired, blue eyed teen, overlooked the village. He didn't catch the hasty patter of feet but he heard a soft voice calling his name.

"Naruto, is that you? When did you get back?"

"Just now!"

Jumping down from the pole, Naruto saw four figures waiting to greet him. Seeing the pink hair from where he was standing, excitement filled him at the prospect of seeing his old teammate. However when he reached the bottom, he was a little taken aback by the girl he assumed to be his teammate. She had emerald green eyes that definitely belonged to Sakura, pink hair but it had been cut really short that hardly any strands touched her neck, she wore red like Sakura, only she had a tube top with a single strap, spandex shorts and a grey apron skirt. She also appeared to have a lot of accessories. There was a hairpin, attached firmly to her top. Her right arm held a bracelet on her upper arm. There was a dagger tied securely to her waist and around her neck, two rings on a chain and another silver necklace.

"Sakura?" Naruto called unsurely.

The pinkette smiled, tilting her head as she closed her eyes, an overwhelming happiness filling her. "Hi Naruto."

 _ **Fin**_

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 **Well everyone, that marks the end of Through the Looking Glass. I want to thank all of you wonderful readers for your support and especially to all my fan artists, who had created so many wonderful artworks for this story.**

 **If you want to find them, just go to deviantart and search for Katsura369 and check out my favorites.**

 **Also, Poisonblossom18 has updated the lemon for this chapter. Go to the link in my profile if you want to read it.**

 **Now because I don't want anyone to be guessing about this; I am going to be writing a sequel to this story and it will be posted hopefully soon. In the meantime, I'll be working on some of my other stories and updating.**

 **Thank you everyone for the support.**


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